Insanity
by I.Tea88
Summary: What happened in between Crescendo and Silence, when Nora was kidnapped? How did she take eleven weeks of being confined? How did Patch take it? This is my first ever fanfic! There's some violent moments in the story, but not too bad. As well as cursing. Oh and all credit goes to Becca Fitzpatrick, wonderful author that she is! Feel free to review, but don't be rude, please
1. Prologue

Hush, Hush, all characters, and all credit belongs to Becca Fitzpatrick!

Prologue

Patch's P.O.V

"_I swear my vow to let the girl live. If I break my vow, I plead that I may die and return to the dust from which I was created." Hank said. I cut my hand and swore my vow in return. I didn't trust the bastard; that was for sure, so I'm not quite sure why it shocked me when he got and his phone and ordered Nora to be taken away. _

"_I swore an oath to let her live. When I release her is up to me- and you. She's yours after you've given me enough information to guarantee I can overthrow fallen angels by Cheshvan. Consider Nora insurance." _

_I was ready to make a break for the door; there was no way in hell I was going to just let them take Nora from me. _

"_Don't go down that road. You're outnumbered twenty to one. We'd both hate to see Nora needlessly injured in a scuffle. Play this smart. Hand her over." Hank said, unable to control the sneer on his face. The son of a bitch; he really thought that this was going to go his way. _

"_If you take her away, I will see to it that your corpse fertilizes the ground we're standing on." I threatened. The asshole had the balls to look me in my face smugly, as if he wasn't standing less than a foot away from the person who could (and would) personally tear him limb from limb._

"_Is that my cue to laugh?" Hank said, opening the door. _

_Nephilim came charging in from the door. I backed up, Nora in my arms. I sat her down in the corner, where I could defend her from every man coming for her. She was still unconscious. One jumped, I grabbed him and broke his arm, kicking him to the floor. Another charged, this time with a weapon in his hand. I laughed, twisting it away from him and stabbing it through his stomach. Using the weapon (a crowbar it seemed), I swung at the nearest head, knocking teeth and blood out of the next man's mouth. Three more approached me. I began tearing skin off of limbs with my bare hands. I can't lie; these men were impressive when it came to determination. _

_Suddenly, while I punched one to the floor, another nephil came up behind me and tackled me to the ground. Three of them began holding me down. I was going to easily throw them off when I heard a small scream that made me freeze. One held my face up; a nephil was holding a knife to Nora's neck and had pressed down enough to cut skin. She looked at me with horror on her face. _

"_Now," the nephil said, breathing heavily from the fight I'd put up, "I don't want to have to hurt your lady here because you won't cooperate. You move anymore, I start cutting skin." He moved the knife to Nora's arm and began pressing. Her eyes grew huge as he began pressing down and she began to whimper. I couldn't take it. _

"_Okay! Stop it…I'll stop fighting…" I said. _

"_Patch…Patch no…" Nora began. I turned towards her, ignoring every other person in the room._

"_I'm sorry Nora…you have to go with them for right now." I said, trying to hide my fear and anger under a calm voice. The nephil tied a blindfold over her face, and threw her over his shoulder. She began to scream in a panic. _

"_Don't let them take me! Patch NO!" she screamed, squirming in the nephil's arms. _

"_It's okay! I'll find you, I swear I will! I won't let them have you!" I shouted out the door, trying to remove myself from the arms of the three nephil holding me down. I heard her screams all the way until I heard a door close, and a car drive off. The three nephil released me on the floor. I laid there, in shock at how fast everything had gone down. They began laughing at my position on the floor. _

"_Aw…lover boy's got to find his girlfriend," one said, mocking me. _

"_The fallen angel's probably thinking about his loss. What a shame too; gorgeous set of legs she's got too. Wonder what he's done in between them," Said another, making them all laugh harder. _

_I saw red. I stood up slowly, staring at them all. They didn't seem to realize that they'd said the wrong thing, about the wrong person, to the wrong person. I got ready to fight, and by fight I mean tear out intestines. _

_They turned their backs on me to walk out of the door. Wrong move. _


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Nora's P.O.V

How could Patch do this?! Why didn't he keep fighting? I'm sure he probably thought that it was because of my safety, but we definitely had a better chance of surviving if we'd (well, he'd) kept fighting through those men! I kept screaming, even when they tied me up and threw me into a car.

"Shut up!" one shouted. "_Shut up you stupid little…_"

"Hey!" another yelled. "That's the Black Hand's daughter, whore of fallen angels she may be! You can't just smack her around!" I stopped screaming. He'd been about to _hit me? _

"See, look, she's obviously got enough to sense to shut up now." the second man said.

"Whatever." The first man said. I heard him shuffling around behind me, until I felt a heavy hand, holding a cloth hard over my mouth. I began screaming again, fighting the rough hands. He pulled my hair back, making my scalp burn.

"I don't have time for no screaming little girls; I can't believe this is what I've been put to! Babysitting, really!" he growled, holding my head in place as I squirmed around. "_Fall asleep already! Jesus Christ…" _

The second man merely sounded amused as he said "Well, Dagger, you seem to be enjoying your new position."

"Shut up Blakely!"

It was the last thing I heard before I fell unconscious.

I woke up in a bed. Sitting up, dazed, I looked around. I was in a room, with dark brown wooden walls. The bed I was on was rock hard, with a decently soft quilt and a pillow. There was a dresser, about half my height, with three drawers. I looked in them; underwear, three pairs of sweats, and 5 oversized shirts. There was a comb on top of the dresser. _Is this a dream? _I wondered.

I walked to the only window, which was slightly open for some air, and saw that it had bars in front of it. Then I remembered the situation that I was in. I ran to the door, pulling on the doorknob. It was locked. I began pounding on the door, shouting at the top of my lungs. Suddenly it was thrown open, and I was thrown onto the floor by a set of huge arms.

"Stop yelling already, you annoying little shit!" he shouted. I didn't know who this man was, but for some reason (angst probably) I was insulted by his tone.

"How dare you?! Let me out of this place!" I shouted back. I began looking around the room for things to throw. Not much of anything at all actually.

"You aren't going anywhere! And you'd better get it into your pretty little skull that you aren't before I crush it in there myself!"

I didn't doubt that he could either. He was about 6 foot 9, had arms bigger than my legs put together, and a scar running across his face. He also struck me as immature in a way; that he was yelling at a 16 year old girl like a teenager made it obvious. He slammed the door shut, while I sat on the floor with an indignant look on my face. Fine, let it be that way. None of these guys could take Patch on by himself anyway. He told me that he'd find me; I didn't doubt him. He always had this way of making things work out for himself, and I knew that because I was in danger, he'd come through.

I began looking around the room to see if there was anything else there. It was burning hot; it was a July day and the room had almost no circulation. Same items: dresser; bed; comb. I became nervous; what was I supposed to do in here? It's possible to go crazy from isolation…

_No, don't be silly. Patch will find you quickly. You won't have the time to go crazy in here, _I thought to myself, shaking my head.

Still, there weren't any sort of necessities in the room at all. I thankfully wasn't about to come on my period, but when I did…_no, if, Patch is coming for you before then…_there wasn't anything for me to use. Nothing to keep me occupied; not even any books. What was I supposed to do in here all day? And in this heat… I could put up a fuss; my bodyguard out there, though threatening he could be, couldn't kill me. Meaning, I could scream my head off until someone brought me something.

_In fact, I think that's my new plan, _I thought to myself_. I may not be able to physically fight these men, but I can fight back in my own way. I'll just annoy the hell out of them; make them wish they hadn't taken me away. _

Several hours later

I had shouted my head off; yelling at anyone who I thought was in the house. I couldn't tell; hell, maybe they'd all left; but it gave me a purpose, and someone would eventually have to hear me. It had gotten extremely hot during the middle of the day, but the sun was starting to go down and eventually the man from earlier opened up the door. He kicked at me, but because the heavy door opened inward, I'd had time to jump back.

"Well, it's about time you-" I started, but then I was hit in the face by a bucket full of water. I fell to the ground in shock.

The man was laughing evilly. "Thought you'd gotten hot in here and may have needed some water."

I glared at him. "I obviously couldn't drink any of that." He affected a shocked look on his face.

"Oh really? Well, that's a shame, because that's all of the water that you were allowed to have today."

I gasped. "Are you _serious?_" I could die in here without water! He didn't respond; he was too caught up in his own non-funny joke. "Can I at least have a towel?"

He laughed in my face.

"What a princess! Would you like them Egyptian cotton as well?" he snickered, slamming the door.

_What a douche, _I thought. I looked around me. So my foolproof plan wasn't going to work as quickly as I'd hoped. I had to stay calm; I had to find my way out of here.

I felt awful in my soaked clothes, sitting on the floor in the same spot I'd landed. Deep in thought, I jumped when the door opened again. Flinching in case of another water bucket, I froze when I saw who was in the doorway. Two large men were holding rope, and a smaller man walked in between them.

"Well, well, Nora. From what I've heard, you haven't been very kind to Dagger. It seems we have much to talk about." Hank Miller calmly stated, as the men approached me.


	3. Chapter 2

**Note: How are you all liking it so far? Are there any ideas you may have? Feel free to leave some in reviews (it'll really motivate me to keep writing! I'm a very busy woman Monday thru Friday, (Bio major; lots of work) so I'll try to write as many chapters as I can on weekends! Thank you ever so!**

** :3**

Chapter Two

Patch's POV

I'd been sitting in Bo's for a while, thinking. I couldn't move in too quickly; if Hank suspected me of anything he would have hurt Nora, and that's not something I could allow. I ran through every place I knew in my mind, thinking of the possibilities of each place containing Nora. The first place that came to mind was Hank's home, but I quickly dismissed it. Surely he wouldn't be stupid enough…_but he might be clever enough to do the obvious, because I'd never think…_

I wrote it down on the little notepad I had with me, thinking that it wouldn't be too hard to check, just in case. I look up and see two men boisterously laughing with one another, clapping each other on the back. Suddenly I felt this gaping hole in my chest…_Rixon. _The one guy who'd been there, the one guy who I'd have thought would stay by my side through anything. The one man who had kept Hank Millar in check; now burning in hell, by my own hand. I remembered how I'd had to drag him down…

"_Get OFF of me!" Rixon yelled. I wasn't listening to him; I had him in a headlock and was dragging him slowly towards hellfire. _

"_How could you do this to me Rixon? You were supposed to be my friend, you were supposed to be on my side!" I couldn't bring myself to yell at him, but the words came out clear as day. _

"_Oh COME ON! For centuries all you've ever wanted was to be human! Centuries; all you've spoken about was the Book of Enoch, and I never stopped you!" Rixon shouted at me. _

"_And?" _

"_I thought it was foolish, really! Then Barnabas had a child, and I knew it was possible! How was I supposed to know that the same girl I needed to kill was the girl that you were looking for? Even then, how was I supposed to know that you-"Rixon stopped, sounding malevolent, "would fall in love with this girl, this child of a Nephil?" _

_His questions and excuses were wearing on me. I couldn't see past it, that he'd betrayed me all this time. _

"_I was a guardian angel. You knew I'd never let you touch Nora." I said. "All this time…you were ruining it for me, making Nora trust me less and less, to fire me as her angel! Why…why couldn't you have become a guardian angel like me, Rixon? We could have had our wings together!" _

_We were finally approaching the gates of Hell. I threw his body onto the ground, and enchanted him so that his body couldn't move. _

"_You've murdered so many times Patch. So many! Hell, you were planning on murdering her just like I was!" Rixon cried. He became quieter. "You just let your feelings get in the way and now you think you're some high and mighty angel! You are a murderer Patch! You've got just as much, if not more, blood on your hands as I do!"_

_I was silent. I had no real response to that, because I knew that he wouldn't understand that the way I felt about Nora would never let me forgive him; would never know that she brought me the redemption I secretly needed. I pulled out his feather; his eyes grew in terror._

"_Patch…Patch, buddy…don't do this…Okay I'm sorry!" he cried._

"_I can't forgive you, Rixon. You've betrayed my trust…" I could hardly look at him, both of disgust and that I knew that if I looked up, I might just change my mind. _

"_Patch, look, we've been through so much together, pulled through so much, I swear that I will never betray you again!" _

_I held the feather towards the fiery gates._

"_NO!"_

_It caught flame. Rixon saw it, and saw the chains come out for his body. He began laughing._

"_All this…for some Nephil…never thought that I'd see the day. I'm not the only one, you know. Someone else out there is trying to kill her. And for my sake, I hope they do." _

_I turned slowly. "What?" As I jumped for him, he began laughing harshly as the chains quickly jerked him into the air, and then into hell, and the gates closed. _

I shook my head, jerking away the thoughts. _Of course he knew, Hank was his vassal. _If only I'd thought to look closer into Rixon. I'd never thought of him to be the jealous type, at least not of me. I wrote some more places down on my list. Suddenly I received a phone call- unknown number. Right.

"Hello?"

"Yes, Patch is it?" came a calm voice. My mood instantly darkened.

"What does he want?" I growled.

"The Black Hand has commanded that you meet with him tomorrow night, in the graveyard."

I smirked at the direct command. "And since when do I take _orders _on my time?"

"Since he has your girlfriend under…less than healthy circumstances." He responded. "He's a very busy man, and I wouldn't keep him waiting. Otherwise you may have to risk his temper. Come alone." He hung up.

I could have thrown the phone through the wall. Bastard. I stood up from the bar stool and walked out the door and into the night. I took a deep breath.

_I'm coming, Nora. _

I got onto the Harley-Davidson and rode off to the first place on my list.


	4. Chapter 3

**Note: Thanks so much for supporting me! This chapter gets a bit upsetting (for the sensitive at least) so you have been forewarned. It's nothing too bad though, at least not to me. **

Chapter 3

Nora's P.O.V

I was thrown into a chair, and my arms were chained to the sides. There was a lot of cursing flying around from both sides, as there was no way I was just going to go into it lightly. The basement was a dark, dank place; concrete both as the walls and ceiling. The only light coming in was through four 4x11" windows at the top of the wall. It was unbearably hot, because there was no circulation at all in the room.

When the men finally had me strapped down, Hank ordered them to step to the side, and stand watch at the door. He approached me, and I went silent, staring up at him in silent defiance. Let him know that he couldn't keep me locked up here, that I wouldn't go down without a fight. He finally stood less than a foot from me.

_Whap! _

He slapped me in the face! I looked back in shock, stretching my jaw.

"Now, that was for that highly unnecessary struggle to get you down here. There's no reason we should have to fight you to get our way." Hank said, unfazed by the fact that he'd just struck me.

"No reason…_you've got me locked up, against my will, and you expect me not to-" _

_Whap! _

"Yes, actually, I do. Seeing as I control whether you live or die, you should consider not taking me so lightly, Nora."

My face was already on fire from where he'd hit me. I felt the tears come on, but I refused to let them fall, not for him. I couldn't wait until Patch came; I'd make sure he paid for every hand he put on me. Hank failed to see my glare as he moved on to his next topic.

"So, Nora. Such a shame. I have to admit; I thought that you would turn out much better than this. You had it all going for you; good family, good grades, proper schooling…and you decide to put it to the side for a fallen angel. Not only going against the grain in proper society, but against your Nephilim bloodline." He began pacing around the room.

"Maybe it would have gone better if you'd shown any concern in my life. Hell, you couldn't even be a proper baby daddy. No phone calls, no money, not even a check up on me or my mother." I hissed.

"I couldn't be a part of your life, Nora. Everything I did was to keep you safe. Things grew; became more important…" he said, speaking quietly by the end.

"Keep me safe…what a COP OUT! You know what I think? You didn't want to risk your image. Your perfect wife, your perfect life; couldn't have the world knowing you had a _whore_ and her _baby _around!" I didn't want to call my mother that, but I felt that the usage of the word would hurt Hank. Suddenly he was in front of me and slapped me again.

"Watch your mouth, young lady." I could see I'd agitated him just a little bit, and suddenly, no matter if he hit me again, I wanted to watch him crumble; to see him look his failures and secrets in the face.

"Oh, what, does it shock you? That that's how I feel? Did it ever occur to you that if you'd been in my life, I would never have liked Patch in the first place? That I would have known all about the fallen angels and Nephilim?"

"I certainly wouldn't have mentioned it to you; not until I felt you were ready." Hank replied.

"So it wouldn't really matter anyway! But, since I wasn't a part of your family dynamic, you could care less what I did until it happened to reflect badly on your plans!" I yelled.

"You need to check your tone. I'm a patient man, Nora, but there are certain things that you need to learn. One of those things is respect, not only to an elder, but most importantly to your father, and your lineage." Hank growled.

"Okay, so one, my lineage- Chauncey tried to kill me- did you know that? I'm a part of his lineage; didn't stop him from trying to throw me off the rafters!" I probably shouldn't have gone into what happened with Jules, but by this point I was belligerent. "You wanted to protect me; where were you back then? That's right, you weren't around!" Hank simply looked interested, not at all sympathetic. Marcie got the look honest.

"Respect to my father? Oh I have much respect for my father, that is, _Harrison Grey! _The man who raised me, the man who stepped up the challenge you were too weak to face," I kept going, getting louder and louder, "the man that stepped in to die for _you! It should have been you that Rixon shot! You let an innocent man die!" _

Quicker than a lightning strike, Hank struck me. Except this time, it was with his fist. I looked up at him, ready to be defiant, but I shrunk back at the expression on his face. It was close to the one Patch got when he was deeply enraged; a monstrous, inhuman look. He turned to the guards.

"Unlock her from her chains." He told one. "Bring me-" he said to the other. Bring him…_bring him what? _I thought. The man came back with a padded stick; it looked like a weapon. By then, the other man had unlocked me from my chains, but held me in the chair. Hank motioned his head for them to leave. I tried to get out of the door, but suddenly Hank hit me in the face with the weapon, knocking me to the ground. I was too dazed to even see where he was standing.

"It's called a short staff, Nora. We use these for the training of my men. It won't kill you, but it will get my message across." Hank stated, looking at the stick.

"No…Please don't do this…don't you think this is a bit extreme?" I said, pleading with him not to do what I thought he was going to do. He didn't respond, he only came at me with the weapon. I shielded my head; curled up into a ball, but it was no use. He simply lifted me up by my hair, and hit me.

Again…

Again…

And again…

By the time he was done, I had bruises everywhere on my body, blood streaming from my mouth, and I couldn't scream anymore. Part of it was from shock; I'd never been _abused _in my life. My throat was hoarse from screaming no, begging him to stop, but I don't think he could hear me. That or he just didn't care. I rolled up into the corner of the room, shrinking away from him. Hank fixed his suit, walked over to the chair, and lifted it off of the ground, nails and all. He threw it at the wall right next to me. Humiliatingly, I urinated on myself, and began to cry. I felt like a goddamned animal; not even human anymore. He sniffed the air, and wrinkled his nose.

"Disgusting." He walked to the door, checked his watch, and knocked on it. It opened. Before he left, he turned to me.

"Listen, Nora. I can't kill you; no I daresay your boyfriend's information is too good for that. I can even be quite kind to you, if you deserve it. I don't want this to happen again. But if I receive any word from my soldiers that you aren't cooperating, I can make your stay here _exceedingly _unpleasant."

The door shut behind him, and in my horror and shame, I fell unconscious.

**Oooh! Man that was intense for me to write. I mean, I'm the one writing the story and I'm sitting here like "damn..."**


	5. Author's Note

Note:

Sorry if you thought this was a chapter! I realized there was a problem in my last two chapters, so I had to, and am currently fixing it! Nothing in the story itself is different; just some grammar issues! Thanks for your patience and sorry for the inconvenience!

P.S. I hate author's notes placed in with chapters too…never thought I'd end up doing it!


	6. Chapter 4

**Note: Hush, Hush and all its characters belong to Becca Fitzpatrick!**

Chapter Four

Nora's P.O.V

"Nora…_Nora!" _I heard footsteps coming fast towards me.

I _knew _that voice!

I opened my eyes to see that I was on a beach. Realizing I was dreaming, I took in the view around me. Suddenly, he was kneeling in front of me. Patch.

"Nora…you've dreamt yourself into my conscious…" he said, flustered. He grabbed me in his arms, holding me tight. I was a little amused; I'd never seen Patch so flustered. He was usually so calm and showed no outward emotion. He began battering me with questions.

"How are you? Do you know where you are? Are you being fed?"

As soon as he asked me those questions, I remembered what'd happened in my waking life. My face crumpled as hid it in my hands; as soon as I'd thought about what happened, the bruises and welts began to appear on my arms and, I assumed, on my face.

"Nora…shh…No, Angel, don't cry, it's going to be okay, I've got you." Patch said softly, rubbing my arms. I must have flinched, because he stopped rubbing me. "Nora? Are you okay? What-" he cut off quickly.

"_What happened to your arms?" _He began lifting my arms, inspecting them, and then I felt his hands on mine.

"_Let me see your face." _ I began crying and turned away as he pulled my hands down. I heard him gasp at the marks; I must look as awful as I feel. He held my face up in his hands. I closed my eyes. I couldn't look at him like this; I was too humiliated.

Patch P.O.V

I gasped when I saw her face. One black eye; the other bloodshot. Bruising all around her skull, welts on her cheeks, both from handprints and from something else. Welts, running down her arms, down her back, and probably into her legs. Dried blood on her lips. I began to shake, and angry tears threatened to run down my face. _That son of a bitch put his hands on my Angel!_ Hank Millar was going to pay for this. Every single bruise on her body; _every single tear she shed_, I'd make sure I crushed a bone and tore off skin. I'd wave it in front of him; force him to eat it and punch in the teeth behind it…

Nora began to sob at this point, her eyes still closed. I was enraged, bloodlust running through my veins, but I had to stay calm. I was doing a terrible job as a boyfriend, but I genuinely did not know what to say to make this better for her. I'd frighten her if I told her how I exactly planned on murdering Hank. I didn't want to keep her dwelling on the negative; she deserved some sort of respite in her dreams. I lifted her face and kissed her lightly on the lips.

"Angel…This is _all my fault_, and I am _so sorry_. I…" I stopped, struggling to continue. "I _will _find you. I will make sure that monster pays for every finger he laid on you. He will regret the day he ever hurt you… I will kill him. I _swear on it." _

She didn't look up at me; she just buried her face in my shirt. I moved on to another topic, hoping to distract her, hoping to see one look of hope on her face. I had to know that she believed me. I _needed _to know that she trusted me again.

"Let's fix those scars, hmm?" Nora looked up at my face. She was so hurt that she couldn't make any facial expression. I waved my hand over her face, and the wounds vanished. We both knew it wasn't real, but for the time being it would help her cope. She smiled at me. It was such a beautiful smile that it made my insides hurt. I wanted to see that smile again in person so badly… I kissed her again, and this time she returned it passionately.

"Thank you…" she whispered. She looked around the dreamscape. "It's beautiful out here. I miss sunlight. I miss being able to move around."

"We can meet here, every night. We can change it up, anywhere you want. And _when _I find you, I will take you anywhere you want. Okay? I will take you to the other side of the world if it will make you happy!" I promised her. She nodded, but she seemed lost in thought.

_What are you thinking? _

She shook her head. I moved my face in front of hers.

_Angel. _

Nora turned to look at me, tears starting again.

"I don't know if I can take that again. I can't see Hank…beating me…again, but I don't know where I am. All I know is that I'm in this dark basement, and it's so hot during the day. I don't know when they'll let me out." She said.

"_I don't know if I want to wake up, Patch." _

My eyes widened at her statement. I grabbed her, softly but firmly.

"Don't you _dare _give up! You've been through so much, Nora. I am fighting, and I will _keep _fighting for you. But I need you to be in this with me. I need you to stay alive for me, okay?"

"I was fighting, Patch…and then this happened…" she whimpered.

"Fighting doesn't necessarily mean using your fists, or being openly defiant. I don't want this," I said, placing my hand softly on her face, "to _ever _happen again. You keep yourself alive, through whatever means. For yourself, and for me, Angel. " I looked her in her eyes; she nodded, and took on a firm expression. I grinned. "Besides, we have some unfinished business to attend to, and I need your body to accomplish it." Nora laughed and smacked my arm; I knew she loved my innuendos.

"Right. You're right. Of course I want to get out! And I want to watch you kill Hank, and get my own hits in!" She stood up, hands on her hips. I laughed; Nora was so cute when she tried to be tough.

"You're so cute when you try to be tough. In fact, one could almost say you were _sexy._" I said, smiling at her. She blushed. I held my hand out, pulling her to the ground. I wrapped her in my arms, bringing her lips to mine.

_You're mine, Angel. No one else can have you. I'll make sure of that._

**I felt like they needed to see each other again (since they can visit each others dreams) Nora definitely needed a pep up. How are you liking it so far? **


	7. Chapter 5

**Hush, Hush and all characters belong to Becca Fitzpatrick! That being said...**

**it...Is...ALIVE! **

**I've been stressing, and I needed to write so that I could feel better. I was really trying to get the eerieness at the end of this chapter; I hope it worked! **

**Oh, I'd also like to say thank you to the sweet reviewers! You've been warming my heart; you really have!**

Chapter 5

Patch's P.O.V

All week, Nora and I had been meeting in her dreams. It worried me beyond end that she was unconscious for such long periods of time, but I put it down to the shock of what had happened. I scowled at the thought; Hank had bailed on me, never showing up to the meeting place… _The fucking coward,_ I thought, tightening my fists. It's like he could sense that he didn't want to approach me that night, because I'd have happily crushed his skull in. I'd spent the entire week trying to track him, but he'd vanished from public, and my, view. On the other hand, it was better for Nora that he was gone, and that I was visiting her dreams; I didn't want her to snap from the lack of human presence. I turned on the TV; I'd been following the media's coverage of Nora's disappearance. Blythe Grey was on the screen, pleading with Nora to come home.

"Nora, baby, please," she cried, tears running down her face, "I know you were upset at me, and you have every right to be, but know that I love you, and I miss you so much! Whoever has my daughter, please, _have a heart, she's just a girl_! She's my daughter, the only family I have left, she is loved, and I will do whatever it takes to bring her home!" She turned her face away from the camera and into the arms of…_Hank Millar. _I leaned in towards the screen, torn between disgust and shock.

_Oh hell no, he wasn't about to do what I thought. _But he did just that.

"I fully support Mrs. Grey, and will do anything in my power to help bring Nora home. Her mother is dreadfully distraught, and an innocent girl is missing from her home. I'm putting a reward up for $10,000 for any information…" I turned the TV off, slamming the remote on the table. The bastard was playing both sides. How slimy could this man get?

I shook my head; not that it mattered for much longer, because I knew that Hank was back in town. Meaning, I could finally strangle the son of a bitch for all of the pain he was putting Nora and her mother through, and get my Angel back. My phone rang, bringing me back from the dangerous thoughts I was slipping into. Unknown number; _well, well_.

"Hello."

"Hank commands that you meet with him in the graveyard, tonight at midnight," came a brusque voice.

"Is he going to run away with his tail between his legs again? I don't appreciate being stood up." I said mockingly.

"You are running on his time, and he simply had other affairs to attend to. The graveyard: tonight."

* * *

><p><em>How could tonight gone so <em>_**wrong**__? _

"Blythe, darling, I just got your message…"

_What the fuck just happened?_

I laid on the ground, my eyes closed, in shock. My wings were gone, torn from my body by a group of Nephils. I couldn't feel the pain, but I couldn't move my body. I thought over what had occurred. I'd gotten Hank on the ground, began what _should _have been a long and torturing event for him...except I'd snapped. I'd lost control. He'd mocked me about Nora…I couldn't take it. I'd torn half of his face off, and I would have continued with his entire body, when they dragged me off of him. He'd turned to leave…and in my haste, I offered him my wings.

_Weak! _I screamed at myself. _How could I have let it get to the point where I was no longer in a position of power? _

The best I'd done was to get her out before Cheshvan, and even then I'd gotten her starved for the next 48 hours.

_Shit…I'm so sorry Nora… _Suddenly I heard other voices. My body went taut; someone had stabbed me in my freshly opened scars. Two men lifted my body up, and threw me into a car. Even though I was paralyzed, I could still sense the fear of the men sitting next to me. Rookies; well trained, but still young. Maybe they thought I was unconscious, because they began to talk.

"Did you see what he did to his face?" one whispered.

"_Bloody awful…he was ripping the skin off…"_ another responded.

"I swear, that's going to be in my nightmares…but the Black Hand, he took it like a champ!" a third one whispered. They began hero worshiping Hank. I wanted to grab each of them and break their necks, but all I managed was a twitch. Still, they went silent.

The car came to a sudden halt. The men rushed out of the car, and pulled my body out, throwing it onto the ground. One pulled out the weapon from my scars. Quickly, I heard them run back to the car and speed off.

An hour later, I was able to move my body. I opened my eyes, and stretched my stiff limbs. I looked up to the sight in front of me. It could have been a perfectly set horror image. The sky was dark, cloudy and gloomy, a strange brownish grey color. With a struggle, I got up and began limping, my footsteps loud against the pavement. The wind was blowing, making it harder to move, giving an eerie sound to complement me and the silence. A wooden structure lay in the distance, a large hill cresting into the sky. I swear I could still picture a statue of a downcast angel staring at the ground.

Delphic.

**So? Did it work? I was going for the feel of Patch feeling...fallen, again. **

**Please review!**


	8. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Nora's P.O.V.

I was being baked alive.

For an entire week, I sat in that basement, too exhausted to move. I knew that the mixture of my injuries, my dehydration, and the heat were keeping me from fighting, from even moving too much. All I'd been capable of doing was removing my pants, because of…well…the incident. Twice a day, someone had come in to feed me. The food was lukewarm soup; some days it was chicken noodle, others it was tomato. I'd hit a desperate point with myself; I was so sick of soup, yet I could have cried every time they stopped pouring it down my throat. The water was like heaven; four times a day, someone came in and brought me a plastic cup of water. I actually _did_ cry when they brought water. It was…well, not _bearable, _but I was unconscious most of the time anyway, so I got to see Patch, and that made things easier. He'd been visiting my dreams, keeping me sane. My captors refused to speak to me, and I never tried to speak to them, for fear that they might take my soup away.

The heat…_oh God the heat…_

It had to have hit at least 100 degrees in that basement. The little amount of air flow that came in the room only barely made it easier to breathe. I wasn't even quite sure how I was still alive. I was just about to fall back unconscious when Dagger entered the room. I was overjoyed _(for the water!) _but then he lifted me up off of the ground and hauled me up the stairs. While he carried me up, I was able to see where I was: a very small but quaint cabin. Who knew why such a nice place had such a hellish basement in it. Must have been Hank's doing. He opened up a door, and threw me onto the bed. It was the original room that I was in before Hank's visit.

"Hopefully, we won't have any more…_incidents." _He sneered. "Someone's supposed to be becoming to clean you up. You haven't bathed in a week…you're disgusting, in fact." I wasn't concerned by his insults; I really wished he'd go away. But the idea of a bath, after sitting in my own dirty underwear for an entire week sounded like heaven. Seeing that he wasn't getting a rise out of me, Dagger shrugged his shoulders and left, locking the door behind him. I fell onto the hard bed.

Hard or not, it felt amazing! The quilt, in comparison to the concrete, felt like clouds...I could kiss someone for letting me come back upstairs.

_What? _

_Was I just showing graciousness to Hank Millar?_

I was disgusted at myself. Was I developing Munchausen's Syndrome? I refused to be grateful to that monster for what he did, regardless of whether or not he let me come back into the real room.

_Still…_

I put my face down onto the sheets. Might as well be glad that I wasn't somewhere worse.

Someone opened the door later, shocking me out of a dreamless sleep. Dagger stood by, with an unknown woman at his side.

"This is Margaret. She'll be helping you wash, and making sure you don't do anything drastic. My idea? Don't. Well, actually, do. I'd love nothing more than to watch you suffer for another week. The silence is wonderful." He said. He began to walk away, but then came back. "Oh, and Margaret is full blown Nephil. Don't try anything; she can easily break your neck." Dagger left, smiling to himself at the thought of my death. Hell, I wanted to be clean just a little bit more than I wanted to escape. Just a little bit. Margaret, a very large, Hispanic woman with very big hands, pointed her head. I got up, and began to follow her. As I walked out into the hall, I dabbled with the thought of barreling for the door…and decided against it. Last thing I needed was to have two Nephilim breaking my legs. Besides, I was beginning to think clearly again. A better plan of escape was a necessity.

We finally made it into the bathroom, which was around the bend from the room I was locked in. It was dusty but not dirty; white tile everywhere. It was pretty small, actually; just a tub, shower, sink and toilet. I wasn't aware of how Margaret was going to fit in there with me. Suddenly, she snapped her fingers in front of me.

"_Stop daydreaming and get into the tub!" _she hissed. The tub was already filled with lukewarm water. Still, it felt divine. I waited for her to hand me a washcloth, but she had one in her hand and was reaching for me.

"I'm to make sure that you don't do something stupid, like drown yourself, and ruin the Black Hand's plans." She elaborated.

"Why couldn't I have showered?" I asked, watching the water turn a filthy black and she bathed me.

"You could've drank the water, and we can't have that."

"I could drink the water now." I countered. She laughed mockingly at me.

"Oh I heard about what went down in the basement. If you want to drink your own filth, pee and blood, by all means, go ahead. It'll only make you sick, and your stay here worse." She waved her hand at the dirty water. I couldn't bring myself to do it; I was too ashamed about what she had said. I was silent as she continued to clean me, and wash my hair, talking about how great Hank was, and how his mission was so important.

"You ought to be ashamed of yourself." She said. I looked up at her like she was crazy. _Me? Ashamed for what?_

"Of _what_, exactly?" I hissed. Margaret shrugged her shoulders.

"For whatever it is that you did. The Black Hand has a great vision, is a great man, and whatever you did to displease him and ruin his plans, for that you deserve this. He is going to save so many of us! You would stand in the way of the freedom of so many, all for…some folly!" I stood there in shock as she dried me. The way she had said it, so nonchalant about my suffering and in awe of what she saw as Hank's majesty…it drove me into complete and utter silence. She handed me a pair of underwear, sweats and a t-shirt. I put them on. Before she could force me out of the room, I looked into the mirror.

_My God, I looked awful. _To be fair, I could tell that I must have looked much worse immediately after what had happened. My swollen eye was going down, fading into a greenish color. The welts on my face were lighter, leaving the stiffness. I was already skinnier. Still, without all of the blood and dirt on my body, I didn't look like I couldn't make it out of here.

She lifted me up and carried me to the room; apparently I was too slow as I heard her muttered "_Could you move any slower…" _

When she locked the door behind her, I sat on the bed, and folded my legs. I needed…I needed logic, I needed information! I was never going to get that by sitting in here, and fighting would only get me placed back into the basement and that was something I could not deal with. I had to bide my time; slowly build a strategy to remove myself from this place, and help Patch find me.

_I can't lose myself here…I can't let myself give up. I'll go insane! _

I was feeling very confident about myself, when Dagger opened the door. He had a very self-satisfied look on his face that could only mean bad news for me.

"I've got good news and bad news." He started. "Good news, for me, and so partly for you, is that they've decided to turn the air on in this motherfucker! It only gets a little cooler in here though, so don't get too happy." I couldn't control the sigh of happiness. But then his smile grew eviler, and I began to worry. "Bad news, dearie, is nothing but water for you for the next 48 hours!"

My jaw dropped, and my temper flared.

"What the _hell _have I even done? I've been half dead in a basement for _fucking sakes!" _ I shouted, unable to control my anger at the injustice of his punishment. Then I stopped; terrified that he might call Hank and have me put back into that basement. He cackled at my anger and fear.

"I'm to add more if I get any resistance, so I think I'll make it 72! Any more questions?" Dagger said, completely enjoying the situation. I shut my mouth, glaring evilly at him. Angry as I was, I couldn't go without food for too long.

"Well, I think I'll go then!" he said, laughing as he left. My face fell when he closed the door. Now they were just trying to torture me.

_Trying? _I thought. _They'd already begun. _

**Updates for everyone! I think that, while writing from Patch's POV is fun, writing from Nora's is much easier. Patch is so mysterious, that I really have to think about what he might do, and keep him in control...Nora's so much easier to understand. Still, I love them both! Might get a chapter in here from Hank's POV too; see how he thinks. Idk. Lol, well, til next time! **


	9. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Patch's P.O.V

I checked myself in the full length mirror one last time. I had to make sure that what I had on was discrete, so that I didn't attract too much attention tonight. Black was the shade of the night; black Levi's, black long sleeved shirt, and a black baseball cap. I'd wrapped my entire back in bandages to help tend to my scars. Still, I had enough range of motion to defend myself, and it was unnoticeable under the shirt anyway.

I'd dragged myself back to my old apartment under Delphic, growling at the memories that the shed held for me. Luckily, no one had stopped me, and I was able to reach my room, and crawl into my bed. When I'd woken up, I'd gone completely businesslike. I showered, wrapped myself in my bandages, dressed, and walked back up to the surface to scope for news. I heard about a meeting that night, of the fallen, at a place called the Devil's Handbag. I'd heard of that place; didn't strike me as an ideal meeting spot.

I walked out to the parking lot, got into my Jeep, and drove to the place. Blaring grunge music came from the speakers. I paid the front door price, and walked into the club. Sensing around for anyone else of my kind, I felt the power coming from beneath the building, in the basement. Walking up to the door, another man was standing at the door.

"What's your business here?" he growled.

"None of yours." I said back coolly. He started towards me; I had a good five inches on him and simply turned my face down. "If you like keeping things out of your wing scars, I suggest you let me by."

He stopped, quailing at the expression on my face. "Oh…didn't realize you were one of us." He moved out of the way. "Go ahead."

"Thank you," I said, smirking. Smart man. I walked into an area filled with smoke; music was still playing, but there was definitely a different atmosphere in this room. More sinister; more on edge. I stood on the edge of the wall in the shadows, listening, waiting for something to occur. I watched this group of guys laugh together. The biggest one had a very ugly, voluptuous woman on his arm, and was showing her off as if she was his latest prize, which she probably was. I realized, fifteen minutes later, that whatever was supposed to happen here tonight wasn't going to occur. Shaking my head in anger at having heard wrong, and wasting my time, I pushed myself off of the wall and turned to go. Suddenly, someone put their hands on my back. I stiffened. I turned into the face of a black haired woman, too much makeup on, with fishnet tights on and a red corset. It was the ugly woman from before, and she was obviously ogling my body.

"Why, hello, there sexy," she said, smiling. "Don't you wanna stick around; maybe we can go out back and play for a bit?"

I stared her in her face unflinchingly. "No."

She pouted, which then twisted into this nasty expression, and turned back to the group of men. Before I could stop her, she yelled "Baby! He put his hands on my ass! Do something!"

The man got up, fists tight. I rolled my eyes.

"Hey! The fuck you think you doing, putting your hands on my woman? You mad that she's interested in a better endowed man?" I turned around to him and sneered.

"If this is the best you can impress," I said, pointing in the woman's face, "then believe me, no man here is jealous." I heard snickers from across the now silent room. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a real woman to attend to." The man's face filled with blood as the woman ran out of the room.

"Look, you son of a bitch, you think you can walk in here and take my woman, talk shit, _and _ leave without getting fucked up? Do you know who you're talking to?" he shouted.

"I haven't had the pleasure."

"Gabe, you bastard! And I don't know who the hell you think you are, but I run shit around here! Now you might want to run your ass up those stairs before I throw you up them! Get back to some other whore of a woman and get the hell out of my sight!"

I was silent for just the smallest moment. I wasn't insulted, or threatened, by anything that had come from Gabe's mouth. Two of his friends had come to his side, ready to fight. He had said he was in charge…and suddenly, I felt like it was about time that I reasserted some of my old dominance in the fallen angel world.

I slowly grabbed a knife and put it on my shoulder; the classic "knock the chip off my shoulder". Gabe growled and charged forward. In a swift move, I pulled the knife off of my shoulder, socked Gabe in the face and threw him onto a table, breaking it in half. He was such a punk; running things based on his brawn. His friends came at me; I punched one in the gut and threw him into the wall across the room, shattering glass. The other I kicked in his kneecaps and then in the face, knocking him breathless. Gabe had gotten up, and tried to approach me, but I swept him off his feet, and onto his knees. I forced his head to the floor, knife still in my hand, pointing at his wing scars.

"Tsk, tsk, what a _rookie." _I said, laughing mockingly. "Now, I'm not quite sure who you _thought_ you were fucking with, but I'm hoping," as I pushed the knife in deeper, "that we don't have this problem again." Gabe simply spat on the floor, a bloody tooth coming out. I stood up, and looked at his friends, both stunned by the hits I'd gotten in. I stood up, and walked to the stairs. The bouncer looked at me in fear and moved over, seeing the damage I'd done to Gabe and his crew. When I finally approached my car, I heard a sound coming from behind me. Gabe and his two friends were standing there, bloody and looking much less intimidating. I got ready for round two, thinking that they hadn't learned their lesson. One of them nudged Gabe towards me. He looked up at my face, staring with an odd mix of hate, embarrassment and awe.

"Look man, we got off to a bad start. We won't fuck with you anymore. In fact, we think you should hang with us. We run things down there. This is Dominic and Jeremiah, too." he said, pointing at his friends behind him. I almost laughed at the way he said "we run things", as if I hadn't easily dethroned him. In fact, I was willing to bet that if he walked down there without me, he'd be laughed out of the building. Still, I could use some henchmen, and I needed the easy access and clout. I held out my hand, chuckling darkly as he flinched.

"Deal." I turned to open my car. "I'll find you when I need you."

"Hey wait! What's your name?" Jeremiah called. I froze. He hadn't asked anything too hard; only for my name. I was Patch…it was who I'd been for so long. It bothered me; as if for a moment, I didn't know who I was anymore. I couldn't be Nora's Patch anymore; I had to harden. I had to become who I used to be before she changed me. I had to become a different person.

"Jev."

I put in the key, turned it, and drove off.

**Reviews, please and thank you! **


	10. Chapter 8

**Hey-o! So, this update is a treat today! I've got an exam today (studied real hard) and I'm supposed to be focusing, but I had a good idea and decided to write some more! This is one of the shorter chapters, I know, but still just as important! **

Chapter Eight

Hank's P.O.V

Jesus, talking to that woman was annoying sometimes.

"Blythe, dear, it's going to be okay. I'm _positively _sure that we will find Nora." I said, trying to speed through and get her off of the phone. "I'll come over tonight, don't worry." I hung up as she began sobbing. Sometimes I felt a little bad that I was fooling poor Blythe in the case of our daughter, but then I realized the situation at hand and knew that it couldn't get any better. I looked up at Blakely, who was standing across from my desk. We were at my car dealership, and he'd come to update me on my personal business as the Black Hand.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, gesturing towards my face and hands. I looked down at them; it'd taken a whole goddamned week for my injuries to heal after that damned fallen angel had ripped my skin off.

"Better than ever." I said, nonchalantly. I sneered, unable to keep the look off of my face. "How's my lovely, illegitimate daughter doing?" Blakely returned the look.

"According to Dagger, she hasn't made a peep all week. She's still alive, although barely."

I nodded my head. I'd lost my cool when she'd spoken to me that way last week. It seemed she needed to learn her place, and soon. I genuinely didn't want to have to beat her again, though; it was very brutish and beneath my standards.

"I do worry, though." Blakely said. I looked up at him with curiosity; worried about Nora?

"Whatever for?" I asked jauntily. "What is there to be worried about? She's alive, and I have that boy in the palm of my hand." Blakely began pacing.

"I worry about her sanity, and the effect it will have on the angel when he takes her back. The reality of it, Hank, is that she can only stay alone for so long. He might snap when he's done all of this work and he receives a crazy person in return." He turned to face me. "I'm not so worried about how they feel, so much as how he'll react towards you when he doesn't get what he wants." Much to his obvious relief, I began laughing.

"Blakely, I couldn't give a _damn _about how that fallen bastard feels! As soon as our deal is up, I'll have enough information to take him and the rest of his race down. Oh the irony that he's delivering his own fate!" I began laughing in true earnest. "Isn't it delicious? As for Nora," I said, relaxing, "I can just wipe her memory at the end of it all. She can return to Blythe in…pristine condition."

"Do you ever plan on acknowledging her? I mean, after you wipe her memory, do you ever plan on telling her the truth once the fallen are extinguished?" Blakely asked.

"Oh, you are a romantic at heart Blakely, aren't you?" I said, smiling. "No, I have no intention of doing so. Dealing with Marcie is enough. It's a shame," I began musing, "that I couldn't have a mix of my daughter's traits. Nora's blood and strength, mixed with Marcie's ability to frighten a crowd into submission. I could have a real successor on my hands." I shook my head at the idea that anyone could succeed me, seeing as I'd never die. I clapped my hands together, getting to business.

"So, Blakely. Enough about my family affairs; how's the work coming?" I asked. He knew what I was talking about.

"The devilcraft is slowly developing; I'm not sure at this point that it can kill a fallen angel, but it can certainly disable them." I shook my head.

"I should hope so; your last contraption failed miserably." I said, remembering how the fallen angel ripped it from my hands. Blakely turned red.

"I'm sorry, sir." I waved him off.

"Just make sure they work." I changed the subject. "Now what I've been thinking, Blakely, is that we need more information than what the angel can give us. He's giving me information on the fallen, but I wonder about more. The archangels, in fact. The ability to fight both; now there's an idea!" I'd been ruminating on the idea for a while, and I was quite proud of it. So I was disgruntled when Blakely showed doubt on his face.

"Sir…_archangels?"_

"Yes."

"But…"

"Yes?" I said, raising my eyebrows. He shook his head.

"Well, sir, if that's your plan, you'll need someone who can see into that sort of thing. I don't think your fallen angel has access to _that _sort of information. Not to mention…well…they're _archangels._" I stood up from my desk and walked to him, clapping him on the back.

"No, Blakely, he doesn't. And that's all that they are. Anyway, I've got more than just him; I can easily find someone else to discover a person to do so." I walked to the window, still giving orders. "Call Dante. Dante Matterazzi. Tell him I need him to meet me at my home tonight; 8 pm. He's just the man I need."

"But…"

"_Now, Blakely." _

He made a face, but nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Don't worry, Blakely, you'll always be my favorite." I said, smiling broadly. He walked out of the room, closing it behind him. I walked back to the window, smiling broadly. It had been such a great day. My phone began vibrating. I looked down to see it, and found an amusing sight. Blythe _and _Susanna, at the same time. Oh the horror. I hung up on both of them, and continued staring out into the day.

**So? I was going for Hank's arrogance at the entire situation; he's blindly joyous. Feel free to review!**

**Oh, and by the way, this is supposed to be about two weeks into the eleven, for anyone keeping track!**


	11. Chapter 9

**Hey guys! So, before you read, I'm going to tell you now so you're aware. As you know, there are so many people that have an important role between Crescendo, Silence and Finale. I want to get them all in there, but I'm not going to go from every single person's POV, as that would be annoying for me to follow. So, if it's not Nora, Patch, or Hank, I'm going to write from an Omniscent POV. It still has value (I think) and it saves me time. **

**Thank you to all of the people who have reviewed; I swear you guys make it worth it!**

Chapter Nine

Patch's P.O.V.

I sat on my couch, pouring over the information I had collected. Mainly, it was nothing. Frustrated, I threw my hands through my hair, and faced the ceiling, almost begging for a lucky break. Then I laughed; the archangels sending me any help? Unlikely. I looked back at the things that I'd written down. There was something about a mob boss in New York; that might've been worth a look. Something in Portland was closer; something about a pimp trying to collect fallen angel men. That was definitely interesting; I'd certainly check that out. Besides those two leads, that was all I'd gotten. Ironically enough, my little showdown at the Devil's Handbag had stirred so many whispers that I couldn't hear hardly any news around it. I figured, since it was midnight, that I'd go driving through Coldwater, and see if I could find anything there. I cursed Hank for giving such a vague task. Fallen angels liked to stay around their own kind, and definitely around large sources of Nephils, but they rarely ever worked together unless it was to fill some sort of need. There weren't exactly any old as time archangels on planet Earth. I laughed at the thought of Gabriel himself walking as a fallen. Oh, the time the avenging angels would have trying to get those gigantic wings…

I stopped. _A fallen avenging angel…_ That would be a needle in a haystack; almost impossible to find. But if there was any type of being that would know how to take out an angel, it would be an avenging angel. I smiled at the logic that had finally come through my brain after so many hours of thinking.

_Now if it was as easy to find one, _I thought, chuckling sardonically at the task I'd just assigned myself. Suddenly, I felt on edge. Someone was in my home, and they were now watching me. I sensed around the room, unmoving, ready to strike.

"Looking for me?"

_No! _

I heard her giggle and I rolled my eyes, coming up from my defensive stance. I stayed on alert though, as I fervently wished the person who I'd just heard wasn't behind me.

_Not this bitch. _

"I don't think we have business anymore Dabria. _Please _do me a favor and leave before I have to deal with you." I said, turning to give her a dark stare. She giggled, pushing herself off of the wall.

"Oh, don't fret, Jev. I'm not here to bother you. In fact, I'm here to help." She walked up, gesturing to my short list of information on the table. "I sensed that, eventually, you would need me around. I spared your pride and found you myself. Aren't you happy to see me?" she said mockingly.

"Why are you _really_ here?" I asked, not up for her games. She sneered at me; it was a far cry from the cherubic look she used to have on her face as an angel. I wasn't sure which face I hated more.

"Look, you might not want to look a gift horse in the mouth, especially since…" she stopped, gasping dramatically and holding her hand to her mouth. "Well, where's _Nora?_"

I reacted by grabbing her by her neck and holding her up against the wall.

"Don't you _dare _say her name around me." Dabria held her hands up, a snarkily apologetic look on her face. I let her go, backing up slowly. She surprised me by walking up and putting her right arm on my shoulder. She leaned in, quickly flipping a card and laying it in my shirt.

"My services." As she began to saunter away, swinging her hips. I couldn't believe I'd once found that attractive. She flipped her hair over and turned her face to me. "_If_ , you need my help, of course."

As soon as I'd heard the door close, I'd thrown the card on the table. I looked around for something to throw; sadly there wasn't anything in reach. I couldn't believe it; I couldn't stomach that _that bitch _had had the nerve to walk into my home, offering me something, and I _knew that I'd have to take it! _Dabria, with her sight and vast knowledge of the Book of Enoch, was at the moment the perfect opportunity. But the way she'd mentioned Nora…anybody else, _anyone else… _

I'd do anything for Nora, I really would. That's why she'd enraged me with her constant accusations this past summer; of me and Marcie. If only I'd been able to tell her how I felt before everything had happened. When I got her out of Hank's clutches, and I _would, _I'd make sure to let her know exactly how much I would do anything for her. _Working with Dabria; _the thought made me sick. I sighed, running my hands through my hair. I just had to tell myself that it was for Nora; that for every second I wasted, she was wasting away in solitary confinement. That determined me. I looked at the clock; Dabria couldn't have gotten far.

I began walking out to my car, texting her.

**_Where are you? _**

I received a text back instantly.

**_Why Jev, to what do I owe this pleasure? _**

_It's for Nora…it's all for Nora… _I told myself. Part of me laughed as Nora would hate me using Dabria to get to her, but I shut it up.

**_Where are you? We may as well start now. _**

_**127 Horizon St. Can't wait to start our…business relationship.** _

_Ugh._

* * *

><p><strong>Omniscient P.O.V <strong>

Dante sat in the car, applauding his own good fortune. He'd been waiting, working for years to get into the Black Hand's inner circle, and he'd finally done it. The power that he thirsted for; the ability to command; it was finally within reach. Hank had called him in, introducing himself, saying that he'd heard about his skills as an assassin and agent, and wanted him to find someone with the information he needed.

_Archangels, _he'd said. _One of my other informants has given me this address. Locate it; bring me what I want._ It was about as vague as any assignment could get, but in his haste to please he'd accepted it. No matter; he could always figure things out. His driver pulled up to a house; Dante looked at the sign.

_127 Horizon. _The house was small; unimpressive. He hoped the information inside of it wasn't so unappealing. A woman opened the door; she was blond, beautiful, wearing jeans and a billowy shirt. Her face suggested that she was not expecting him.

_Some seer, _he thought mockingly. She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Visitors come during the day; 11 AM to 9 PM." Dante began to laugh.

"You seem like you were expecting someone. I'll be kind and assume it's myself. Now," he began, "how much can I offer you, that you can sit and tell me the information that I need to know." She simply raised her eyebrows.

"How much are you willing to pay for the information you seek?"

"What do you think I'll say?" She began frowning, annoyed at Dante's lack of belief.

"Look, I'm going to be busy soon. $10,000." She said. She seemed to sense that he was no ordinary customer.

"Ha! And I just wanted to know my horoscope!" Dante joked. Finished with his humor, he stepped into business mode. "Deal. Invite me in."

"Your men stay outside." She said, turning into the building. Dante followed. His men knew the deal. The inside of the building was, for lack of a better word, trippy. There were so many colors; vases of many different colors and shapes, soft rugs all around the floor. The woman definitely went for the look of a gypsy. She sat in a chair, gesturing to the one across from her.

"So, what mysteries would you have me tell you, what wondrous things shall you know?" she said, smirking. Dante returned her smirk, only it was deadly.

"How can I capture myself an archangel?" The woman froze. She tried to escape from the chair, but suddenly the two men from outside the house were pinning her down. Dante began speaking to her mind.

_Now, listen here, bitch. I know you're a fallen angel; I could sense it from outside. You tell me what I want, and I'll make sure that you don't have things thrown into your wing scars for the rest of eternity. _

The woman turned up to glare at him. _Nephilim filth! Abomination of nature! I'll never tell you anything!_

Dante smiled, grabbed a vase, and shattered it. He dawdled with it over her wing scar, but then he remembered something from his past of dealing with fallen angels. Instead of stabbing her, he thrust his hand into her scars.

A couple seconds later, he removed his hand, almost in shock. He had seen a book…a book with directions, of everything…of anything… It was game changing. It was _world_ changing. There were so many things that could happen…so many things that _he, Dante, _could control… Suddenly, the woman thrust both of the men off of her and ran out of the building. They charged after her, but she jumped into a car that had quickly pulled up, and it sped off into the night. Dante commanded the men to stop running.

"We have the information that we need. Let her go."

Once they were in the car, Dante began to think. He had the answers on how to give Hank what he wanted. What he now wanted to know was how to _surpass _Hank in power… Let him find the archangel. If a simple fallen could show him so much, he could only imagine what one of such power could tell! He didn't have to tell Hank everything; only, he could let Hank do what he needed to do to get things started, and then to find a way to simply _take_ it from him…

The other men sat in the car; unaware of the change that had happened in Dante due to the knowledge. They were unaware that a snake was blooming in their midst.

**Not going to lie; I kind of like writing how Patch feels involving Dabria. Cuz you're just sitting there like "Dude.." "What?" "She is totally a bitch!" (Attack on Titan Abridge reference) As for Dante, I just felt that it'd be too good to pass up to involve him now in the story. The knowledge corrupts... Anywho, I hope you enjoyed it! Review, review, review! **


	12. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Patch's P.O.V

_GO! _Dabria mind yelled as she hopped into my car. Somewhat disconcerted by her tone. I sped off into the night, not stopping until I sensed Dabria's panic wane. Finally, I stopped the car and turned to her.

"Mind explaining what the _hell _that was?" I said. She turned to me, her face wild.

"_Nephils…_a man; he asked me how to capture an archangel! Blasphemy!" she began wailing; I supposed she'd forgotten that she was no longer an angel of death, as her alliances were still strictly bound with the archangels at times. Still, I was thrown off by her statement.

"_Capture an archangel? _Where would one even find that sort of information?" I asked. She turned to me, sneering as tears ran down her face.

"If you'd fucking _read_ the Book of Enoch, you'd know that it is written on how to subdue an angel!" I turned away into the night, thinking hard. This had to be Hank's doing; only someone so arrogant and power hungry as he could ever think of doing something so large.

"It's completely against nature! More so than creating the Nephil race!" Dabria shrieked.

"Be quiet!" I yelled. I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose, drawing patience. "_What _can subdue an archangel?"

"'_The crafting of a demon is the only thing that can subdue an angel. Created by the fallen; it is counteractive to an angel's power. While, due to its nature, it is not stronger than the angel's power, it can simply hinder it from being.'" _She quoted quietly. "As soon as he asked, I remembered the quote…and then he shoved his hands into my wing scars, and I…" I sighed angrily.

"The archangels could never let anyone get away with…with devilcraft! As soon as they get wind of its creation, they will eradicate it!" she whispered, in shock at what had happened.

"Did you not hear yourself? If whoever gets devilcraft into their hands, the archangels would be at a disadvantage for the first time since the _beginning of time!_ They would never just charge in, for fear that they could be taken out. Besides, the only way they could be affected by devilcraft is if they came to Earth. No…there's something else going on…" I began thinking to myself. What could Hank possibly be thinking, to mess with nature? I felt a soft hand on my arm.

"Thank you, Jev. I appreciate it," Dabria, began, running her hand up my arm. I shrugged it off.

"Just consider yourself lucky I was coming. Now," I began, "I need something from you."

"Obviously," Dabria said, hurt.

"I'm caught in a deal. This is a deal that I can't go into specifics with you. All you need to know is that I'm looking for a large group of fallen angels that are working together. I have a place in mind that I want to go to; do you see it working out?" Dabria simply looked at me.

"What?"

"Well, I'm not just going to _give _you the information! Take me with you." She stated.

"Uh…_no." _Dabria tossed her hair, giving me a smug look.

"You're going to need my help. Especially if you get into trouble; these won't be easy targets you're searching for. You'll need backup." I returned her smug look.

"I won't need your help, I've got my own henchmen; thank you." Her look turned pleading.

"Oh, _please! _You mean those three goons? Yes, I have heard about what happened! They aren't nearly as knowledgeable or as experienced as I am! You'll need someone around on your level to help you!"

I raised my eyebrows. "On my level? You do know, Dabria, that you've only been fallen for about three months. What _experience _do you have, exactly? Attempted murder? We both know how well that went." Dabria blushed a deep red, her eyes going dark at my reference. She turned away, thinking.

"Now, if you'll tell me what I need to know, I can be on my way."

"You'll need my information on the Book of Enoch." She stated, facing away.

"That is true." I stated back. She flinched, seemingly in pain at what she was about to say next.

"I'll help you find her." I jumped, looking at her in amused shock. Now I was interested.

"Come again?" She turned to me, undisguised hatred in her eyes.

"I'll help you find Nora Grey." She rolled her eyes at my face. "Oh, I'm not stupid, or naïve like your little pet. I know she's been missing, and there's no way you'd just let her vanish. I'll give you the information you need, and help you find her, if…"

"_If…"_

"If you swear to let me come with you. And to never send me to hell, or to turn your back on me. We can be totally business, if that's what you prefer, but you have to let me come with you. Being down here, doing nothing…it's _purposeless! _Give me _something _to do, some sort of companionship!" she inhaled suddenly, sensed she'd revealed too much. _Companionship indeed. _Still, her offer was tempting. I would need her knowledge, and she was definitely more skilled and controlled than Gabe, Dominic or Jeremiah. As for finding Nora, I wasn't sure how helpful she'd be, but I'd need more hands when it came to torturing others to discover Nora's whereabouts.

"I swear to not send you to hell, _as long as _what you do doesn't purposefully hinder what it is I need to get done. No, I will not turn my back on you, _as long as _you don't on me. And I swear that our business is completely, and only, business. I swear this, or else I may perish into dust." I cut my hand, and looked her in her eyes, demanding her honesty. She nodded, agreeing a little too eagerly.

"I swear that I will help you with whatever it is you're doing, as long as it doesn't involve my own demise. And I swear that our relationship is strictly business. I will not turn my back on you, if you don't turn on me. This I swear, or may I perish into dust." She cut her hand, and our blood fused. I pulled my hand away, slightly disgusted at what I'd just had to do. I just hoped that giving her a second chance was worth it. I heard her giggling, and turned to see what was up. Dabria looked up at me, a slightly crazed look on her face.

"We're _sworn…_"

_Oh God. _I shook my head, moving on to new business. I looked at her expectantly, for the information I needed.

"You're looking for a fallen angel named Mark Cain. He's moved his…business ventures…to downtown Portland. From what it looks like, he owns a strip club, and is a minor mob boss. He also hires groups of fallen angel men to protect him. I'm not sure who his Nephil vassal is, but what I can say is that he has a penchant for violence against those who contradict him. So I'll bet being his vassal is quite miserable." She mused, still happy at the swearing. I began to think. If this man was who she claimed he was, then he'd be looking for thugs to protect him. He'd also have access to a larger group of fallen. I just had to infiltrate his system.

_Shouldn't be too hard, _I thought, putting the car into drive.

"Where are we going?" Dabria asked, smiling. I couldn't believe I'd just stuck myself with her. It was all so wrong; it should have been _Nora _in that seat, asking me what date we were going on. Instead, it was my crazy ass ex. I sighed.

"_I'm _going back home to make a few phone calls; get some information together. _You _are going to go back into your house, and prepare yourself, and us, for whatever is coming up." I gestured to the car door, as we were a few blocks from her home. She looked at me with worry on her face.

"But…"

"No one's out there. You'll be safe; I'm sure you can see that." She got out of the car and shut the door, an odd look of disgust on her face. I rolled the window down, smiling ear to ear as I over-exaggeratedly said "Pick you up tomorrow!" I quickly sped off before she could do something too rash, like break the car.

**Okay, so I was a little worried that there would be some confusion, so I thought I'd clarify. All of these thoughts that Patch keeps having, and the little bits of info that Patch keeps collecting, I know they seem random, but they'll connect later! I promise! **

**Review! **


	13. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

**Earlier: **

"Talk."

Dante folded his hands, leaning back into his chair.

"What I've found, sir, is something that, if released, could shake worlds. It is what you're looking for, yet, if you were caught with it, could cause serious changes to nature. What you are looking for, itself, is unnatural, and is against any and every law of the archangels." Dante leaned in, enjoying the discomfort on Hank and Blakely's faces. "It is something that, once I tell you about, I believe you will have to let me in on."

Blakely pushed up from the table. Hank, however, stayed calm.

"And what is it, exactly, is this thing?" he said quietly, putting his hand over his mouth. Dante smiled, leaning back.

"I'll tell you what you want; in exchange for a position." Hank began laughing heartily.

"I have been in the market for a new first lieutenant."

"That will be just fine." Dante said. Hank quieted down, going back to his serious look.

"You amuse me, Dante Matterazzi. You have an excellent and useful skill set, work efficiently, and have a way to convince people. I could use a man like you. You would make an excellent first lieutenant. I will give you what you require, if, and only if, you swear that you will not use your newfound power against me, and that you will tell me everything that I ask of you. You will do these things, else you will burn where you stand." Hank leaned in, a gleam in his eye. "Do you swear?"

Dante hesitated a moment, showing no emotion on his face, thinking the deal over. It would certainly be difficult to topple Hank without being able to use his newfound power, but as Hank said, he had a way of making people follow him…and there had to be a way; he certainly had the time to figure it out…

"I swear that I will use my newfound power to the best of my ability; that I will not turn against you, Hank Millar, and I will tell you everything that you require, else I burn where I stand." Dante cut his hand, and in turn Hank cut his. Blakely looked on in disgust. Dante leaned back into his seat, willing to talk.

"Devilcraft."

Blakely jumped infinitesimally. "What?" Dante smiled.

"Devilcraft. It can impair an archangel. We lure an archangel down with the simple smell of it; capture it; force it to tell us what we want to know."

Blakely sneered. "You haven't told us anything that we didn't already know!" He turned to Hank, in a rage. "You've given this _fool _a position to tell us absolutely _nothing!" _

"Silence, Blakely." Hank commanded quietly. He turned to Dante. "Are you aware of how we capture this archangel?"

"They will send an angel down to check it out. The only way they will know that there's devilcraft is if there's a large enough area on their radar that they can't sense past."

Hank rose his eyebrows; this was news to him.

"They can't sense devilcraft?"

"No. They only know that they can't sense something, and that it means that there's the possibility of devilcraft. However, I don't think you need to worry about them sending droves of archangels down. If you are in possession of as powerful of devilcraft as I _think_ you are, then they won't risk being taken out all at once. Be warned, though- the devilcraft, according to the source I used, isn't more powerful than an archangel's magic. It can only prevent it from flowing."

Hank chuckled. "Is that not powerful enough?" Seeming to have had enough of Dante, he gestured for him to go. "One of my men will show you to your new quarters; enjoy your position, Dante Matterazzi, and do not fail me. I shall call you when I am in need of your services."

Dante stood, bowed, and walked to the door. "It was a pleasure doing business with you, my lord." He proceeded out.

* * *

><p><strong>Hank's POV<strong>

That damned Dante. I found his attempts to try to hold the upper hand amusing. Still, he found the information I needed swiftly and efficiently, and with him as first lieutenant, I'd have infinite access and closer control over what I needed to know. It seemed a fair trade. As soon as Dante walked out of the room, Blakely had begun to talk.

"I don't trust him."

"Why?" I didn't ask because I didn't know. I just needed another opinion.

"He's arrogant, and he seems to think that he can worm his way into your plans. _Our _plans."

I smiled, shaking my head.

"I believe that this minor setback will be worth it. He has access to what we need to know. The inner workings of devilcraft; how to manipulate it; these are things that we need to know and quickly. If I need more information, I'll simply send him out to retrieve it. Besides," I said, smiling, "In his haste, he forgot to make me swear to not turn against him. Should he try to work against me, he shall die. If I should simply have him put away; well no one should know the wiser. Everything is in our favor."

Blakely still seemed disturbed. "So long as he doesn't use the information himself! He's still trying too hard. I'd have an eye out on him, if I were you." He shook his head. I began to think.

"I wish that you hadn't admitted to our use of devilcraft so easily. It put me in a position that I could hardly get out of." I added. I saw Blakely cringe. "And if you were listening, he can't turn on me. Still, I'll make sure that there are some men watching his every move from here on out."

"He said that archangels couldn't sense an area if it were blocked due to devilcraft." I began. Blakely nodded. I smiled. "Do you think perhaps, it would work the same against fallen angels? Because I think that our fallen friend will still be looking for my lovely daughter." I didn't trust that fallen angel as far as I could throw him. I knew, among the workings of our deal, that he'd still be looking for her, and the more he tried to look for her, the less information that he could give me, and I simply could not let that happen.

Blakely sneered, following my train of thought. "We could definitely test out the idea on the cabin. It would effectively shut it off from any sort of angel interference." He began to grow more and more excited. "Just think! If it can work there, we can put it around the warehouses as well! It would have to be amazingly powerful…"I laughed, standing from my chair. I clapped him on his back.

"Well, then, I'm leaving it up to you. Devilcraft wards. Make it happen." I waved Blakely out; he was already going through new ideas in his mind. I began pacing the floor. I felt that it might have been time to visit my daughter; to see what exactly she thought of her extended stay. Maybe this time she'd be much more cooperative.

**I do these more or less to make sure there's an outside story going on. I like the idea of how the other characters developed. So much politics! Also, so that we can see what is happening that affects Nora and Patch. That damned Hank, and that damned Dante!**


	14. Chapter 12

**Hey! Many people keep saying they love Patch's POV, and so do I! Lol but give poor Nora some credit! Anyway, I decided to start marking the weeks for her, as I'd actually started losing track. The chapters from her POV will start reflecting her state of mind. **

Chapter Twelve

**Nora's POV**

**Week 3-4/11**

I was seriously close to breaking. Patch hadn't visited my dreams in days, and quite frankly I no longer knew what day it was. All I knew is that I'd gone three days without eating, and then the food had started reappearing. I hadn't spoken to a person for such a long time...what I wouldn't have given to have called Vee, or to call my mother, to let them know where I was. If I could even find out where I was. My plan on escaping had, like me, gone literally nowhere.

Every day, I fell asleep to the brown ceiling. Every day, I woke up to the brown ceiling. Same ceiling, same floor, same walls, same window… I'd tried breaking through the window, but the damned thing had proven much too hard for my human hands. I had nothing to cut through the bars in front of them with, anyway. I tried distracting myself. At first it was exercise. However, after falling to the ground due to fatigue and muscle spasms, I'd stopped trying. Soup wasn't damn near enough to keep me alive…and yet somehow they managed to make it so. Once a day, I got to go on a trip to the bathroom. I lived for those trips; one would never believe how nice it was to get out of that room, and take the thirteen steps required to go from the bedroom to the bathroom. I rarely had anything to get out of my system, but I'd sit in the bathroom and simply muse over how nice it was to be somewhere else. The days that it was Margaret, I'd get to take baths. The second time she'd come, I'd genuinely tried to drink my own bath water. That resulted in me being thumped in the side of my head. By a human being, that would only sting, but she managed to leave a genuine knot on my temple. When I used the bathroom, the door would open after I flushed the toilet, so as to make sure I couldn't drink any sink water.

One day I'd tried begging Dagger to let me out of the room for a tiny bit. That's how I knew I was losing resolve; I never resorted to begging, and especially to Dagger. He simply laughed in my face, kicked me in my stomach, and slammed the door shut. I'd cried myself to sleep that night.

I wanted my mommy. I felt different ways about her on different days. Some days I hated her; I hated her for sleeping with that monster, for giving birth to me, for lying to me, for not picking me up from this terrible, terrible place… Some days I loved her to death; wishing that she'd find me, wishing that I'd been nicer to her before I'd been kidnapped.

I wanted Vee. I wanted to go shopping; I'd give anything to listen to her inane conversation; to eat loads of doughnuts…

I _really _wanted Patch. I wanted him to hold me; I wanted to beg his forgiveness for my silliness this past summer; I wanted him to come and kill these bastards and let me out of here…

I even missed Scott.

One day, I'd finally had enough. I'd begun screaming, just for the hell of it. I needed to hear some sort of noise; to garner some sort of reaction. Dagger ran in and began cursing me out, threatening to take away two more days of food. I didn't know which was worse; starving to death or being stuck by myself. At that moment, food was more important, so I'd stopped screaming. I then proceeded to ask him to bring me a book. He simply looked at me like I was crazy (hell, maybe I was!) and left.

I couldn't believe the situation I was in.

All I wanted was someone to talk to. I'd talk to anyone at this moment. I began to cry, wishing that it was bath day, so that I could talk to Margaret. I wished that Dagger would bring me what I wanted.

I wished Hank would let me go.

I began kicking my legs, having a silent temper tantrum. I did this off and on until the sun went down.

Suddenly, the door opened. For some stupid reason, I felt this huge smile on my face, as if it would be someone ready to pick me up and leave.

It was Hank, and he was carrying a shoulder bag. I shrunk back into the corner, silent. Just because I'd begun to go crazy didn't mean I forgotten what had happened the last time he visited. He looked upon me, simply observing. Then he sat down on the bed.

"Nora."

"Mr. Millar." He smiled.

"It saddens me to see your state. Is there anything that I can do?"

"You can let me go." Hank laughed, smiling down at me.

"That, my dear, is the one thing that I cannot do. However, according to Dagger, you've been quite restless." He reached into his bag. I flinched, thinking that he'd bring out some weapon. Instead, he was holding an iPad.

I could have started drooling.

"You've been behaving generally well, besides a few lapses in judgment, but as they were minor, I thought you deserved a treat." I slowly crawled to his side, my curiosity for the outside world slightly overwhelming my fear of Hank. There were many pictures. Some were old pictures of me; my baby years, my middle school years. Pictures of my mother and me, at different events, or simply at home. I noticed that there were no pictures of my adoptive father, Harrison Grey.

"Your mother gave these to me. She wanted me to see how well you'd grown up." I wasn't listening to him, I just kept scrolling through, drinking in the images. I felt a deep pain when he turned off the pictures, and then I scrambled back to the corner.

"I can't let you speak to your mother. I can let you know that she is deeply concerned for you, Nora. If you are cooperative, I will have no problem in returning you unharmed to your mother at the end of your stay. I would hate for anything to have to happen to you, or your mother, if something went awry."

I should have known that he'd be here to try to keep me in check.

"But, off of that unpleasant point, is there anything else I can get you?" he asked me, as if I were staying in a five star hotel. I took advantage of his sudden generosity.

"I want books. And a notebook to write in. And a TV!"

"That's fine. Except for the TV." I was a little disgruntled at that, but I kept going. Hank seemed amused by my behavior. It was bizarre. In a perfect world, I'd have been asking him for birthday presents. Instead I was begging for ways to keep myself alive.

"I want to be able to go outside whenever I want." Hank took some time to ponder my request.

"I don't think I can do that. However, if you are good, I can have my man allow you to go outside once a week for a couple hours."

As much as I hated him, I could have hugged Hank Millar for that concession. So I may have been overexcited at my next request.

"I want to call Patch." Hank sneered at me.

"Why in the world would I let you do that?" he stood up, and began pacing the small area between the bed and the door. "One, he could track the phone, and we can't have him doing that. Two, I think that this dalliance between the daughter of the Black Hand and a fallen angel has to cease."

"He swore to you that he wouldn't do anything, right? I just want to talk to him! Please!" I began to beg, tears flowing down my face. Hank gave me this peculiar look, as if he was taking joy out of watching me beg. Normally that would have stopped me, but I was too close to my chance to let go. Suddenly, he shrugged, and pulled out his phone. He dialed the number, and put it on speaker phone. I was slightly angered that he wouldn't allow us privacy, but I didn't argue. The phone rang a couple times, and then there was a beep. Hank hung up, and proceeded to crush the phone. He gave me this twisted look, torn between glee and evil.

"Oh? He seems to be too busy to speak to you at the moment."

I was heartbroken. I'd been so close…and nothing. Hank put his iPad into his bag, and walked to the door.

"Oh, and Nora?" he said, stopping. I couldn't even look at him; I couldn't look up from the ground. "I can tell you this, as there's absolutely nothing you can do about it." He sounded so much like Marcie.

"We'll be putting wards up around the cabin. It blocks any type of angelic interference, no matter how powerful they are, and no matter how they try to reach you. You may as well get used to the idea that your fallen angel will _never be locating you. _You, my dear, are _alone._" With those words, he walked out, locking the door behind him.

My body twisted in agony. Alone. _Alone! _All I could hear were his words. If they blocked angelic interference…Patch couldn't visit me anymore. He hadn't answered my call, and he could no longer see me.

_I'd never see him again. I was all alone._

A wail of agony came from my throat, getting louder and louder.

It lasted until the sun came up.

**Show me some love, and get those reviews in! Thanks; I really appreciate it! **


	15. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

**Patch's POV**

I pulled the Commander to the corner. Dabria and I had driven to a sleazy part of Portland; I just had to hope no one tried to steal it while we were working. I turned to Dabria with a meaning look on my face. She rolled her eyes.

"Yes, I know the plan. Stop worrying Jev; I'm much more skilled than you'd like to give me credit for."

"Just making sure. Tonight can't go wrong." It was my first real lead in three weeks, and I needed nothing to get in my way. I pulled out my phone, calling Gabe. He picked up first ring.

"Yeah?"

"Has it been done?" I heard a chuckle over the phone.

"All taken care of." He paused. "Man! Lots of fine ass women crawling around this place. Might just get distracted."

"Look, don't fuck up, okay? Just be ready if I call you." I growled into the phone. Gabe began laughing nervously.

"All right, fine. You're turning into that Ice Queen of a woman you brought with you." Gabe hung up. I couldn't help but chuckling at the thought of Gabe's introduction to Dabria.

* * *

><p>Before we'd met Gabe and his crew, we'd gone to get prepared to go to the nightclub. I was wearing a black button up, a white bowtie, black slacks, and a black fedora. I carried an expensive black jacket over my shoulder; going for subtle. <em>Dabria, <em>on the other hand, had decided to wear a bright red, skin clinging dress that fell to her knees, black pumps, bright red lipstick, and her blonde hair straight down her back. _Inconspicuous,_ I know. I'd rolled my eyes when she'd explained, saying that she "had to fit in".

"Well? Who's this fine piece of work you brought with you, Jev? Girlfriend?" Gabe said, whistling, eyeing Dabria up and down. Jeremiah and Dominic were obviously checking her out.

"His ex, actually." Dabria answered. I didn't even understand how she could say _"his ex" _so proudly.

"We're associates, and she's helping me with my business." I stated coolly. Gabe took my answer to mean that he could proceed onto Dabria.

"Well then, baby, if you're looking for a good time…" he winked. Dabria suddenly became cold, standing further behind me.

"No. I don't date boorish men. I have standards. Now, if you'll excuse me." She turned to me, smiling brightly. "Jev, I'll be in the car." She sauntered away with my keys.

"_Jev, I'll be in the car." _Dominic mimicked sexually, getting a laugh out of Jeremiah. Gabe wasn't so amused.

"Bit of a bitch, isn't she?" he asked, genuinely bemused by her reaction. "How did you ever get her to do anything?" I put my hand on his shoulder, my look clearly stating I couldn't stand her, and walked away.

"Be ready for tonight."

* * *

><p>Dabria wrapped her arm around mine as I paid the fee to get into the club.<p>

_Helps keep up appearances. _

Right.

The nightclub was pulsing red, dark shadows showing men and women grinding on each other, some holding drinks. Women wearing black corsets and black boots were walking around, holding trays with glasses on them. Smoke filled the air. I pulled one of the women to the side.

"Excuse me miss," I said, putting on my best charming smile. "Can you tell me where to find Mark Cain?"

She blushed, pulling her face back to look around, and then at me and Dabria. Then she giggled.

"Threesome, hm? Freaky. I'll take you to Mr. Cain. Follow me." She turned and beckoned for us to follow. Ignoring her assumption, we followed her to a room towards the back of the club. She pushed the door open.

A bunch of women giggled, pulling off of a man sitting in a chair behind a desk. The man only looked slightly flustered at being caught groping a bunch of women.

"Mae! What have I said about opening the door when I'm busy!" he growled. Mae jumped, looking flustered. "Sorry, Big Daddy." He glared at her.

"I'll deal with you later," he said, waving her away. Mae scurried. I walked in, making myself comfortable on the chair across from his desk. Dabria stood towards the back of the room, clearly disgusted by what she saw.

The pimp finally seemed to notice that he had visitors.

"Well, boy, looking for one of my women, are you?" he assumed proudly. "Plenty to pick from. Although they can be a bit disobedient." He paused, taking a drink. "You know what you do with a disobedient woman? Smack em'! Can't stand a disobedient woman. Only thing worse is when they get nosy and start asking questions about other women. As if it matters! Totally replaceable!"

Seeing as I would never cheat on, or lay a hand on Nora, this man was completely out of his mind. He'd apparently drunk too much to sense that he was in the room with two other fallen angels. I brushed off his misogynistic comments, ready to get to the point, and then get out of here.

_This man is disgusting. I'd like to see how he feels; I'd smack him senseless across this room, _Dabria thought.

That made two of us. I decided to be blunt.

"Look, Cain. I'll be straight with you. I know that you're recruiting the fallen for something, and I'd like to get in on it."

Cain's face suddenly went serious, the drunken look slipping off into something more sinister. He turned to all of the women, who were confused by my words.

"Out." They weren't moving fast enough for him, because he began yelling. "_Whores!_ Did you not hear me! _Out!" _They ran out of the room. Cain eyed Dabria; she gave him back a look daring him to make her leave.

He sat back down, folding his hands, and looking at me.

"Ah; fallen recruitment. It is true; I do know about that. It's all about those accursed Nephils. They seem to believe that they can gain their freedom from us. Ha!" Cain threw his head back, laughing. His face twisted into a depraved look. "All of them; we will torture every single one of them, year round, for _ever_ thinking that they could get away from us. They'll get a two week break though; Cheshvan is when we shall let them out." I was silent as he got up and began pacing the room.

"I despise the idea of a Nephil uprising. One, they need to learn who their betters are. Immortal they may be, they will never be stronger than us. Two, they need to accept that there will never _not _be a Cheshvan! It is the way things are; the way things will always be. I suppose, as you have come to me, you feel the same way, boy?" He turned to peer at me. I simply nodded from under my hat, observing him.

"I like you, boy, so I'll tell you something interesting. There is a man; a fallen angel, stronger than any of us present. His name is Solomon Aliberti. He has heard of this…this Nephil uprising, and plans on quashing it before it can even begin. He has been slowly gathering followers. I am one of his recruiters; we only choose the best." The corners of my mouth rose only slightly; now we were getting somewhere.

"Well, give me what I need, and I'll be on my way." I said, simply, looking up from my hat. Cain laughed again, sneering at me.

"Like you as I may, I just met you, boy. You have to swear an oath, pledging complete faith to the cause, and let me and a few of my men have access to your wing scars. To see your...credentials."

At this I laughed, throwing Cain off of his stride. He frowned at my nonchalance. I felt my phone ringing, and I used his pause to check it. _Unknown Number_. He would wait. I put the phone on silent and put it back in my pocket. I rose from my chair, standing over him by a foot.

"That, my friend, is something I can't give. Now, I'll ask you politely. Write whatever it is that you have to, to get me clearance into this man's circle, or else I'll have to force your hand." Cain glared at me.

"Guess again, boy." Cain tried to charge for the door, but Dabria, having slowly walked around the room, tackled him to the floor. She pulled out a metal bat and pinned him in the back with it. I kneeled in front of him. Dabria placed her hands in his scars for a moment, and pulled out quickly. Cain was cursing profusely.

_He keeps a feather…under his mattress. _I was amused by the obvious placement of something so important. I walked to the bed, lifted up the mattress, and found a box towards the middle. I walked back to Cain, and, noticing the key he wore around his neck, yanked it off. Unlocking the box, I pulled the feather out. Cain's cursing stopped abruptly when he saw what I had in my hand.

"Now, I wouldn't want to have to send you to Hell. I've had to do it before, and I would rather not have to do so again. If you'll just sign whatever it is we need, we'll be on our way." I whispered, waving it in front of his face.

"I'll call my men…they'll make sure you have shrapnel in your wing scars for the rest of eternity!" Cain stuttered, afraid of what I might do. I laughed evilly.

"Your men have been…taken care of." I said, thinking of Gabe. "Please, just tell me what I need. I really don't have the time. I will have this building burned, along with your feather, right in front of your face. Is it worth it? No more drinks; girls; literally to Hell in a hand basket, because you couldn't sign a paper?"

Cain sighed, letting his head fall to the ground. "It's in my desk. I have a stamp that I use; it's red; you'll know what I mean. There's cardstock; stamp two of them and I'll sign." I found the things he was looking for, and brought them to him with a pen. I replaced Dabria pinning him to the floor, while she watched him sign the papers. I pocketed them in my jacket, and smiled.

"Thank you." Cain glared at me evilly.

"I'll have your head for this!" I laughed.

"Right. Dabria?"

_Clang!_

Cain fell to the ground. I saw the metal bat sticking out of his scars where Dabria had placed it. When I reached the door, I held my arm out. She took it, and we walked to the front of the building. We heard women scream as they discovered a bat sticking out of their pimp's back.

* * *

><p>I'd sped off into the night, leaving Portland behind. After dropping Dabria off, I'd driven to Delphic, and fallen onto my couch. I reached into my pocket, pulling out the two notes and Cain's feather. I didn't need to worry about him. I closed my eyes, ready to sleep for the first time in a while, when my phone began buzzing. I angrily took it out of my pocket, checking the caller ID. Unknown Number.<p>

_What the hell does this man want? _

"Yes?"

"Well, Patch, It seems you finally have the time to answer." I sat up; it was actually _Hank _calling.

"I don't run on your time. It will no longer be safe for us to associate as much as we do." I answered steely. I heard him laugh at me.

"Shame; our dates were just getting interesting. Actually, I wasn't the one who called you earlier. Seems our girl wanted to talk to you." I froze in horror. "Too bad you were too busy on _your own time _to answer."

"Let me talk to her." I whispered. I could have spoken to her…I could have seen if she was okay…

"Hm…No. You'll know, she's doing just fine. Although, through the heartbreak and the lack of voice due to her screams, I don't think she can talk just now." Hank answered. I became enraged.

"_Let me talk to her!" _I yelled, unable to control my anger. The line went dead.

"_Damn it!" _I shouted, throwing the phone onto the couch. I put my hands in my hair, pulling it back.

_Heartbreak and her screams…_she'd needed me and I hadn't been there…it must have been terrible for her already frail state of mind…

"I can't believe this shit…" I whispered to no one in general. I could just talk to Nora in her dreams. It wouldn't tell me her state in reality, but I could let her know that I was there for her. I laid down and focused on reaching her conscious.

I woke back up in the morning, in shock.

I couldn't find her.

It was as if her conscious no longer existed.

**Boom! Whoo-wee, this was a long ass chapter. I was trying to get in as much as possible without typing too much. I thought it all went together well in this chapter. Maybe not. Still, tell me how you like it, via reviews! While I know that Dabria isn't the good guy (gal), I think that when she's working with Patch she can take on a better persona. He still loves Nora! (so haha in her face!) Lol I'm done; I'm so tired...**


	16. Chapter 14

**I decided to start writing Nora's POV from her notebook! I'm really trying to hit home how she's starting to lose it, so it's definitely gonna start getting weird in her chapters! **

Chapter Fourteen

**Nora's POV from her notebook**

**Beginning of Week 5**

_Day whenever: _

_Dagger finally brought in the notebook Hank said I could have today! He brought it, along with some other books that I have yet to look at. It's been so long since I've had someone to talk to; I'm so happy you're here! _

_I must be going insane; I'm talking to a notebook as a friend! No matter; I've still got enough of my senses to know that there's a change coming. I'm absolutely positive that I can get out of here now, with time, especially after the day I've had. _

_What happened, you ask? _

_Well!_

_I got to go outside! Dagger blindfolded me, to make sure I couldn't see my way out, and dropped me on the grass outside. When I took it off, and looked behind me, I saw the cabin. It's pretty small. I saw my window, with the bars. Now I know which direction to move to get out. _

_I ran around, enjoying the wind that was blowing. It was pretty cool outside for a summer day; the cabin must just be incredibly muggy. I sat down in the grass, enjoying the weather. I got to see the woods around the cabin; they're huge conifers, very dense. I couldn't see too far into them. I wished I could tell Patch; he'd know where to look for me. In a moment of sudden inspiration, I nonchalantly turned to Dagger, who was watching me from the door, and asked him if there was a river nearby. He sneered. _

"_Planning on swimming away? Guess again." I tried again, trying to trick him into thinking I was planning on doing just that. _

"_Maybe I will! I could easily just run there and make a raft!" Dagger is __**so **__stupid. He played right into it._

"_The nearest river is miles away. You couldn't make it that far, girlie. And you can't just make rafts; stupid child." He said, chuckling at my "ignorance". Stupid man; clearly he was hired for his muscles only, as he was lacking in every sort of brains. Anyway, apparently there wasn't going to be a river for me to follow. I looked around the yard again. There was no car, yet Hank had to have gotten to the cabin somehow. I realized that we must be in the back of the cabin; the car would be up front, and with the car, the road. I got up from the ground, and ran back towards the cabin. I saw a wire fence around it, and behind it, the gravel road I was looking for. The wire fence extended into the woods, and must have curved around eventually. _

_That wire fence was going to be a problem. I could easily climb over it, but not when a fully grown Nephil was chasing me. I'd never get over it in time. I'd have to find a way through the front door. It was no problem, as I realized that the cabin was abysmally small. _

_Suddenly, Dagger was there, lifting me by the back of my shirt, throwing me back onto the dirt in the middle of the yard. _

"_It doesn't matter whether or not you see that road. It's ten miles long; good luck getting that far away from me." He said, scoffing at me. Again, stupid man, arrogant; thinks that I won't notice his slips. _

_Ten miles is one hell of a walk. I've ran three, and that was enough! But ten miles long means that I'm ten miles away from a main road. Ten miles away from a main road means ten miles away from people. _

_Ten miles away from freedom. Surely, it wouldn't be too much for me to accomplish in a day! _

_Suddenly, I was re-blindfolded. I kicked and screamed as Dagger carried me back into the cabin. I wasn't ready to go back inside!_

_He threw me onto the floor. I noticed he was flipping something in his hand. _

"_What's that?" I asked, apprehensive that he might use it on me. In a sudden movement, he flicked it towards me, knife edge first. I swallowed._

"_Swiss army knife. One of the rarest in the world, made with genuine silver and handmade. Part of my payment for watching your ass." Dagger replied, in awe over his knife. _

_Swiss Army Knife, hm?_

_Could definitely be useful. _

_I knew I had to find a way to get it away from him. _

_But that's fine, notebook! I have an entire week to figure it out! _

_I wish I had more to tell you, but as there's nothing really that happens around here… _


	17. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

**Omniscient POV**

Dante sat in the back of a black, tinted car, listening to Hank Millar talk about his successes. Blakely was noticeably absent, which was good, because that would get rid of his meddling. Hank was speaking to him via mind-speak, as he didn't want the other Nephil in the car to hear him.

_We have tested your idea out on something very important. Killing two birds with one stone, I'd say. _Hank thought.

_What do you mean? _Dante thought back.

_Blakely has successfully come up with devilcraft wards. We are testing to see if they block angelic interference, the way that you say devilcraft does. It seems to work quite well; it's also a bonus as they can't see our labs. _Hank smiled thoughtfully. Dante looked out of the window, noticing that they were driving on a gravel road, into dense conifers.

_Where are we going? _

Hank turned to look out of the window. _To see our handiwork. _The car pulled up to a small cabin. A man walked out, guarding the door. Hank got out of the car.

"Ah, Dagger! How's our girl?"

"Alive, sir." Dagger answered. Hank laughed, amused.

"As she should be!" Dante was very confused. Had they already been able to secure an archangel? Was his work already at a standstill? Hank noticed his confusion, and began to explain.

"We're keeping a very special prisoner here. She's…motivation for one of my spies to keep working. No angel should be able to find her here, as she should be completely unable to be sensed." He began walking towards the fence.

"We have the wards placed around both around the fences, and even more densely around the cabin itself." Hank said, pointing towards the fence. Dante, however, was concerned with the prisoner.

"Is she, the prisoner, is she so important that she only has one guard watching her?" he asked. Hank turned, raising his eyebrows. Dante continued.

"I mean, sir, if she was this important, surely it would be intelligent to leave her with more guards."

Dagger scowled. "I'm more than enough to deal with that human brat!" Hank silenced him with a look, then turned to Dante with a peculiar look upon his face. Finally, he clasped his hands together.

"Of course. This, Dante, can be your duty. To keep an eye out on our prisoner. Consider it training for your future position. You can start tomorrow. Dagger can explain to you whatever it is you need to do." Hank began whistling as he strode toward the car, getting in and driving away. Dante stood there, aghast and insulted. Shaking his head, he turned towards the brawny man standing at the door.

"Well, fool! Let me in!" he said angrily. Dagger bristled; he'd been used to doing whatever he wanted during his stay at the cabin and he had no intention of losing power so easily. He stepped out onto the pavement.

"Listen, you…"

Dante simply walked around him, and into the cabin.

"Where is this prisoner?" he asked, getting into business. Dagger, outraged and intimidated by Dante's gall, shook his head.

"She's in the back. Here's the key." Dagger handed him the key. Dante turned and walked towards the door. He opened it.

Inside he saw a half crazed girl, sitting in a corner, scribbling into a notebook. She jumped when he opened the door.

"W-who are you?" she cried. He simply stared at her, analyzing her. She was wearing baggy clothing, making her already frail body look even smaller. Her face was gaunt. Her hair was bedraggled, but she wasn't dirty. She was obviously suffering from a lack of human communication. She hadn't gone completely crazy, but it seemed like only a week or two and she'd lose it. Great, he thought, he'd been stuck with a mad woman.

"If you stay here any longer, I'll scream!" she yelled. Dante, feeling slightly pathetic for her, closed the door and leaned on it.

"I'm not here to bother you. I'm one of your new guards, starting tomorrow morning. I'm here to check things out." The girl, if anything, squeezed closer to the wall.

"Oh? And what exactly did Hank promise you? That you'd get to beat me senseless every night? He's sworn by an oath to not kill me! You can't do it!" Dante raised his eyebrows. Beat her senseless? A fighter then; beaten into submission. This was something Dante understood.

"I'm sure we can get along just fine. What is your name, girl? What makes you so important?" he asked.

The girl's face twisted into a depraved look. "Nora Grey. Don't you know? I'm apparently _Daddy's _special little item,because he's keeping me here until he gets what he wants!"

This was news to Dante. So, Hank had an illegitimate daughter. And not just any daughter, but _Nora Grey_, whom the town of Coldwater was searching for. Hank himself had put out a reward for finding her. He chuckled; Hank was more clever and evil than he'd given him credit for. This also put more worth into this crazy little girl.

"Well, Nora, I'm Dante. I'm sure we'll be getting to know each other, as you'll be here for awhile." He looked down at her scribbles; he could see that she'd been drawing the outside of the cabin. Nora pulled them towards her body, covering them. Shaking his head, Dante turned and walked out, locking the door behind him. He was already forming the perfect situation in his mind. Hank needed a reason to believe him able for the job as first lieutenant. He could easily do this by pretending to "recapture" Nora, and shooting up into Hank's confidences even more. It was almost _too_ easy. The forest was huge; even if the road was only ten miles or so, with the state the girl was in, she'd never be able to make it out. Dagger was already an overly pompous idiot, and lackadaisical at his job. He was picking at his nails with his Swiss Army Knife, watching television. It would even give Dante something to do, besides sitting in a house, watching a girl lose her sanity.

* * *

><p>As Dagger poured the girl's last ration of soup into a bowl, Dante walked up behind him.<p>

"Let me do it." He said, taking the bowl. Dagger shrugged, and went back into the living room, to watch T.V. Dante unlocked the room, walked in, and shut the door. Nora was still looking at her scribbles.

"Here," he said, handing her the bowl. Seeing the food, Nora scrambled up, snatched the bowl, and sat back down, slurping it. It was truly a pathetic sight. It was apparently a luxury for her to be allowed to finish on her own time, because she didn't hand the bowl back until it was completely clean.

"I'm leaving for the night." He said, simply. "Goodnight." Nora's eyes widened.

"You…you're the nicest anyone's been to me since I've been trapped here," she said, tears getting ready to flow. Dante coughed to cover his discomfort, and quickly left the room. However, he didn't lock the door. The lack of the sound of the lock was obvious. Quickly, he walked into the living room. He saw Dagger on the couch, snoring. Dante went into the kitchen, searching until he found a cast iron skillet. He walked out, silently, and swung the pan into Dagger's head. Dagger's body fell to the ground, unconscious, bleeding from his skull. Suddenly, he heard the door open. Nora scurried out, unsure of where to go, probably thinking that it was too good to be true. Dante mind tricked her into believing she couldn't see him. Tiptoeing around, she walked to the front door, and quickly checked for any alarms. She threw open the door and took off at a sprint into the night. Dante grinned.

Let the games begin.

**So, I've been seeing other peoples' stories, and I see them getting like..hundreds of reviews...and it makes me sad because I don't get hundreds of reviews :'( I'd like to reach at least 30. Really; it'd be nice; especially to motivate my fast posting. Just saying. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! **


	18. Chapter 16

**Sorry guys! I wasn't ignoring you on purpose, really I wasn't! I went home this weekend (caught a 9 hour bus) and it's really nice being home for a bit, so I spent some time with the folks! Then, my PC stopped working and the microsoft office wouldn't download! It's been rough, but one $60 anti-virus software and microsoft office download later, I'm finally back! So, I've got some uploads for you! Enjoy! **

Chapter Sixteen

**Nora's POV**

_Freedom!_

_So, yesterday, Dante came in to feed me, right?_

_He left the door unlocked! Rookie mistake! _

_Still, I didn't want to believe it…but I'd never have another chance. I waited until it was dark, and slowly pushed the door open. I heard a TV, so I slowly walked towards the noise. I peeked in to see where Dagger was residing; he must have been in the bathroom because there was no one on the couch. The room was completely empty! Overjoyed, I quickly checked for any alarms, and when I saw that there weren't any, I swung open the door and sprinted out. I only made what could have been 50 meters away before I fell onto the gravel. My starving and exhausted body obviously couldn't take the run. I got back up, and began quickly limping away as far as I could. Granted, it was pretty dumb to run away at night when I couldn't see anything, but I'd already ran, and I wasn't going to turn around. I'm not sure how far I got before I suddenly passed on to the ground, past my limit. _

_This morning, I woke up, lying on the dirty ground. I was extremely sore. I looked around myself quickly. I couldn't believe I'd passed out! Anyone could have seen me and taken me back! I sent up a thank you to whoever was looking out for me, and continued walking. I was hungry; I still am hungry. I feel really weak; that's why I stopped to write what's going on in you, notebook! Luckily, I was able to fit you in my sweatpants pockets; they bought these things too big, and my weight loss isn't helping either. My legs are bruised, and my feet are cut by the sharp rocks and sticks that I've walked over. I needed a break. I must be getting close to some sort of society; I passed a sign some ways back. It was faded, but I could make out the letters "W_e M_n_ain Nat_ _est". White Mountain National Forest, notebook! I know where I am and if I could just get out of this damned place and get to people…_

_Oh no…._

_Dear god, that was a raindrop…it just started raining…_

* * *

><p><strong>Omniscient POV<strong>

After cleaning Dagger up and erasing his memory, Dante decided to take a nap. He knew that in her state, she'd never be able to get farther away than he could catch her. In the morning, after hearing Dagger groan, he knew it was time to put his ruse into action. He charged into the room, grabbing Dagger and shouting into his face.

"The girl is _gone! You left the door unlocked, you fool!" _Dagger seemed confused.

"But…I thought…I don't know…"he mused, not remembering what had happened. Dante threw him onto the couch, confident that his mind tricks were flawless. He called Hank Millar.

"Dante, what a pleasant surprise. To what do I owe this phone call?" he answered. Dante affected a panicked tone.

"The girl escaped! I went out to go check the perimeter of the wards, and when I came back, the girl was gone!" The other end of the phone was silent for just a moment.

"Well, go and _find her _you idiot!" Hank roared, and hung up the phone. He was clearly more agitated than he let on. Content, Dante ran out of the cabin and into the woods. He'd only jogged 5 miles before he saw Nora walking on the path.

_Silly girl, _he thought, shaking his head. It began to rain, and he watched as she at first tried to cover herself, but then opened her mouth to the sky, trying to drink the water. Truly pathetic. Crouching to get into the right line of sight, he charged her from behind, pushing her to the ground. Shaking, she looked up from the ground in terror. Dante rose his hand.

"Tsk tsk, Nora. A shame. And here I thought that we'd be _such perfect friends." _

And with that, he knocked her unconscious.


	19. Chapter 17

**Okay, so, this chapter gets dark, and if you are very sensitive, well...Just follow along with me, and I swear you'll at least be affected by it as much as I was writing it!**

Chapter Seventeen

**Nora's POV**

**Week 6-7**

_Day 1- back in the basement_

_I can't get away…_

_I CAN'T GET OUT OF HERE!_

_The last thing I remembered was Dante hitting me…and he was so nice…_

_I wasn't dealing with a rookie. I was dealing with a sick, twisted man._

_I woke up in the basement. It upset me so much that I almost fell back unconscious. I reached into my pocket, feeling a lump there. I suppose, luckily, Dante hadn't noticed you in my pocket. _

_I hid you the moment I heard the door unlock. Dante walked into the room, swaggering towards me. He seemed awfully happy about the simple feat of catching a malnourished girl. _

"_Well, Nora, you've made my day. Really. Because of your little feat, The Black Hand has decided that he trusts me with this job, and with his business. Dagger is gone; he's been…removed, due to his lack of ability to take care of you." He chuckled in a sinister tone. Walking in, he shut the door. _

"_As for you, Miss Nora, it has been determined that you need to be properly punished. Now, I'm no brute. Beating you would serve no purpose, and bring neither of us any joy. No, your punishment will be painless, but much worse. You'll figure it out eventually." _

_My face was blank. I couldn't bring myself to show any emotion to this man; this man who had fooled me so completely. _

"_There's a small flap in the door; it'll be for water. That's all you'll be receiving for the next couple of days." _

_Starving me? It wasn't new, although I'd gotten used to the steady food. Dante seemed to sense my challenge._

"_Oh Nora, you do amuse me. It's going to be enjoyable to watch you snap." And with that, he walked out of the room. _

_I couldn't hold back my panic as he shut the door. God knew when he'd be back to let me out and I couldn't take the idea of spending more time in the basement. _

* * *

><p><em>I couldn't sleep. I tried; I really did. I couldn't. Every time I closed my eyes, to fall into dreams, it was as if I'd be pushed back out into stark reality. All night, I tried. I was so exhausted that I knew I should be falling asleep, but it was as if I was being forced to stay awake. <em>

_I cried. Uncontrollably. I was so tired…I couldn't stop myself. At first I screamed. Loudly. For what had to have been hours. Then, once I was too tired to scream, I just sat in the corner, the tears falling from my face. _

* * *

><p><em>Day 2-<em>

_I no longer had the energy to cry. I no longer had the energy to do anything, really. I felt cold. It was burning hot in that room, yet I felt this deep cold in my core, a hopelessness that I hadn't felt since I'd found out I couldn't talk to Patch. _

_Patch._

_What was he doing? Was he even trying to find me? _

_He'd been my every thought when I was first kidnapped. Not kidnapped. Traded. I was bartered. Nothing had gone right._

_Did he even care that I was still gone? _

_**Of course he does**__, the loving, hopeful side of me said. But the other side of me, the side that was growing hopeless and mean, said __**He probably doesn't even think about you. Probably had enough of having to deal with you. **__Even as it tried to overtake me, I couldn't give in to that thought. Patch would never just leave me here; whatever he was doing, he was doing in regards to the deal that he made to get me back._

_I had to see him again. I knew where I was, and I had to help him find me if he was looking. Since he was looking. There had to be a way to get out, and if I couldn't sleep, I wasn't going to waste the time I had sitting around and waiting to die. Because that's what was happening. Thing was, torture me all they like, they couldn't kill me. Hank would lose it all if he killed me._

_And that's when I realized my trump card. _

_I took my pencil, which was nothing more than a stick of soft lead, and broke it in half. I'd have to write less, but that was okay. Hoping that my plan would work, I began grating the lead against the ground, on its side. _

* * *

><p><em>Day 3-<em>

_I began seeing things. _

_There were things floating around the room. Shadows. Most times they were harmless, and I was able to ignore them._

_In increments, I would write in you, notebook, and then go back to grating the lead. Five times a day (call it Dante's "mercy") I would receive a bowl of water. Lukewarm water, as they would never give me ice. When they did, I'd drag myself from the wall to the door to get the bowl. I couldn't even walk anymore; the one time I tried, my knees gave out due to exhaustion and I fell onto the floor. _

_That only gave me a headache that I couldn't sleep off, and made the hallucinations worse. For what had to have been hours, I sat with my hands over my head as the things that I knew weren't real floated in front of me. The first vision was Chauncey. He didn't speak, but I saw his evil eyes, and I knew that he was thinking that this was his just desserts. The next was Rixon. Rixon tended to speak more often, and I'd hear him laugh mockingly at me, ask me how my own hell was. The worst vision I had was the monster. The monster had no real shape; it was just darkness. But in the darkness, it had these ice blue eyes that observed me mockingly. The monster told me of how I'd never see my mother, Patch, Vee, or anyone I loved ever again. It was the incarnation of Hank Millar, and all of my worst fears. _

_Eventually, the hallucinations became calmer, and went back to just background noise. I grabbed the lead, and began grating it once more. To help myself get through the noise, I began to sing. I wasn't great, but the thought of other people singing helped me pass the time. My favorite song to sing was "Breath of Life" by Florence and the Machine. I could swear that it was so close to my own situation… Over and over I sung it, louder and louder. I could even imagine hearing the choir behind me. I was cut off by a loud banging, and a water bowl coming through the slot. Crawling over, I reached for the water. As I lifted the bowl with a shaking hand, the door suddenly banged, and in my shock I dropped the Styrofoam bowl. I tried to drink the water from off of the ground, but to no avail. The floor had too many cracks and it slipped through. I was silent, my pain coursing through me. That was __**evil**__. After lying on the ground in front of the door for what seemed like a life time, I crawled back to the corner, and took up my lead. I stayed this way, among the visions and noises, for the rest of the night._

* * *

><p><em>Day 4-<em>

I knew what I had to do to get out. I was no longer afraid.

I should have been dead. Anyone who's gone four days without sleep should be dead. I was going to die if I didn't get out of there. I knew I was not supposed to, but I didn't think that anyone around me took into consideration that in my "punishments" and "waiting", I might die due to exposure or exhaustion. They're all too arrogant; too confident in the idea that I'd never get out; too arrogant in the power they were wielding over me. I was very close; I knew that if I didn't do what I needed to, I might simply lose the will to go on.

I knew that I was taking a very big risk with my plan. But there's only one way that I could get out of the hell hole, and I was all too willing to take it. I no longer cared what might happen; anything was better than where I was.

The plan was to survive. I was going to live. But in order to live, something drastic had to happen. I was past the point that I couldn't conceive of what I was going to do. I just had to hope that it worked.

However, in order to do what I needed, I needed an audience. So I waited.

Soon enough, the door unlocked, and Dante walked into the room. I had sat still for hours, conserving energy for this one moment. I had to do it just right, as to not ruin it all. Things began to run in slow motion. I saw Dante open his mouth, and all I could hear was

"You must be exhausted, dear Nora. I think, perhaps, I can let you sleep now. But before, let me tell you-"

I could barely see anymore. I put all of the energy I had saved into my move.

I rose the sharpened edge of the lead, and pulled it hard across my wrist.

**Okay! So? How'd you like it? I actually had a bit of writer's block this weekend, and then this idea formed in my head and I was just like...yes, it's so dark, it's so desperate, it's so perfect... please, reviews would be awesome!**


	20. Chapter 18

**Hello all! So, finally, Patch is back in the picture! It took me some thinking to worm this one out, but I think I like how it turned out! Oh, when you're thinking of Aliberti's voice, go for Don Corleone's; that the voice I imagined!**

Chapter Eighteen

**Patch's POV**

It'd been an entire week of work. Dabria and I had traveled to New York City, checked into a hotel, and then began to listen for the whispers of the fallen. We'd forced more than one fallen angel into a dark alley and beaten the information out of them. Those beatings led to entrance into nightclubs, which led to illicit meetings and connections, and finally, entrance into Solomon Aliberti's office himself.

I parked the Jeep Commander into the hotel garage, and we caught the gilded elevators up to the office. I had to acknowledge that the man operated in style; opulent gold gilding surrounded red velvet wallpaper, with shining white marble flooring and black velvet couches in the French style. We'd been told to dress with class, so I was wearing my Joseph Abboud tuxedo, specially tailored, and Dabria had gone with an ice blue floor length (_Vera Wang, _she proudly told me). When we were led into the office, I sensed his power immediately. For the first time that I could remember in my existence, I was _intimidated. _It practically rolled off of Aliberti in waves.

He seemed unperturbed at our entrance; he sat at a huge mahogany desk, on a giant red throne-style seat. He had his eyes closed, and his hands crossed in front of his face. His short, black hair with a white streak lay smooth on top of his head, and he seemed to almost be a wax figurine the way he was holding so still. The moment we sat down in front of him, he opened his eyes. They were _yellow. _I felt Dabria jump in her seat next to me.

Aliberti stood, and began to walk around his office, deciding not to speak to us yet. He turned, watching us; observing. He held his eyes mostly on me; I returned his stare unflinchingly. He smiled, seemingly content with what he'd seen.

"So, you're the boy behind old Cain's stabbing, hm? Can't say I blame you. Did he say something particularly rude to your girlfriend?" he said, nodding at Dabria. His voice was deceptively soft, with a rasp. "He has a reward out on you for $200,000 dollars. I'm surprised that you've been able to avoid detection. I, of course, knew who you were going to be. I sent men out to watch you. I know your names; where you're from. Still, I wanted to see you regardless." He stopped, leaning onto his chair.

"You're quite diligent, I must say. I'm appreciative of your efforts to see me. Most people take a number and wait. They never show the…aptitude, the drive; that you have shown. I like that." Aliberti sat on his desk in front of both of us. "As for Cain, don't worry about him. I'm not offended. He's a sloth, and never could do business correctly." He closed his eyes for a moment, inhaling. Suddenly, his eyes were locked onto mine.

"Well, well, boy. A fallen archangel." My eyes widened slightly in curiosity. He chuckled. "There weren't many a day where I had to strip an archangel. Rule sticklers; could never get them to leave their perch." Dabria exhaled sharply as I leaned my head back in shock. _A fallen avenging angel. _To think I never thought I'd find one; I'd landed right on the needle in the haystack.

"Sir…" Dabria began. I turned to her, trying to convey her need to shut up through my eyes. However, she determinedly held them away from me. "How is it…that you came to fall?" I wanted to smack her in the back of her head. However, Aliberti seemed to take her question in stride. He pondered a way to answer the question, before sneering.

"Well, my lady. To be frank, I held with opinions that the _Original Fallen _had."

At that, I had to swallow. No one had seen Lucifer since the day he'd decided he'd wanted to go against God himself. The task of stripping his wings had been left to the specific group of the Original Archangels; among them Gabriel and Michael and Asrael. It was assumed he was somewhere in Hell running things since then. It was forbidden to even think of his name or wellbeing, or to hold with any opinion he held. As rebellious as I'd been, even I'd never had the nerve to ask about him. It was an incredibly great offense. It showed just how truly _ancient and powerful _Aliberti was.

Aliberti snickered, seeing the looks on both of our faces. He continued with his story.

"It wasn't immediately after he was stripped; no at first I simply went along with the decree. But then I began to wonder about things; wonder why it was that he was wrong. I was an avenging angel; I, among others, who knew the secrets to de-winging and stealing the power from an angel itself; why was it that I was in no greater position? Of course, the archangels figured out my thoughts, and without a trial, I was condemned to be stripped." At this point, he smiled widely. "It took them a century to strip my wings from me; the longest it's ever taken to strip an angel. I refused to let them take my wings." He'd walked over to a large curtained case that took up about 10 feet of the wall.

"I like you, both of you, and so I'll show you something." Aliberti pulled a string, pulling two curtains away from the display case. Dabria shrieked in fear; I simply stared in both awe and shock.

It was a pair of white wings, streaked with red.

"All but one feather. I was able to find certain…connections upstairs. I was able to find them and preserve them. All but _one."_ He said, shaking his head.

"Aren't…aren't you worried someone will find and burn them?" Dabria squeaked. Aliberti laughed heartily.

"The case in enhanced with a special magic; angelic magic. Again, another good deal I was able to grasp. It's a shame, they eventually caught up with that angel and burned his feather…eh…" he said, shrugging. "It's done now. Anyone who touches the case will have their hands turned to ash. I will know exactly who did it, and let's just say they'll face an eternity of…displeasure at the hands of the rest of my loyal servants." He walked back to his throne and sat down, quietly watching us again. I'd misjudged this man; I knew that he would be powerful, but I could only now sense just how dangerous he was. He spoke again, moments later.

"So, you've decided that you want to join my ranks of the fallen. Your efforts to get this far can be considered impressive." He began observing his fingernails. "I don't want to know about your past, or whatever deals you've made to get here. It all becomes void the moment you swear to join us. You will become a part of a great league; our own hierarchy of angels, here on Earth." Here I decided to speak up.

"I may need some time to consider the offer you are laying on the table." Aliberti rose one eyebrow.

"Time? You've come all this way, and you still need time to make a decision?" I stared back into his face.

"I just like to make sure that I understand what it is that I'm entering. Rushed decisions are never prosperous decisions." I knew that all too well. He nodded.

"Smart boy. I understand. I will give you two days to ponder. When my men come for you, be ready to accept. This is a great honor; very few have actually been ordained by myself to join me." Aliberti's eyes began to glint evilly. "Do not disrespect me by taking back your word. I shall have you hunted down, your name and reputation destroyed among the Fallen, and destroyed." At that I looked up.

"Destroyed?" Aliberti sat; it seemed that he was piercing through my soul.

"There are ways. As there is only _one_ fallen avenging angel, only _one_ knows the secrets." He smiled, and waved us out of the room. We stood, bowed as a showing of respect, and were led out.

We were silent on the drive back home.

* * *

><p>I'd considered it a successful night. I now had access to an entire league of the fallen, which meant infinite access to information. I'd discovered a fallen avenging angel, who would know everything I needed, and we'd made it through the week without any terrible run ins. The only thing I needed to find out was how I was going to word a swearing that wouldn't ruin the swear that I'd made with Hank Millar.<p>

When we got back to the hotel, Dabria said that she was willing to take first watch. We knew that Aliberti's men would be watching us; we only had to hope they wouldn't try something. Seeing as I was exhausted, I'd agreed. I'd laid down onto the king sized bed and fallen right asleep.

I'd landed on my normal dream spot; the spot on Delphic Beach where I liked to sit with Nora. The sun was going down, right over the water, and the effect was calming. Suddenly, I heard labored breathing, and I looked around to see who was ruining my peace. I sprinted through the sand to the body lying near the water.

_Angel._

**So, what do you think? The idea of Patch, intimidated? This guy must be one bad mother...anyway, leave reviews for me! Thank you to everyone who's left me one (or more) so far! Shout out to my reviewer Dallas; trust me, I got you, don't worry! Just read and enjoy! That goes for everyone as well! Much love!**


	21. Chapter 19

**Oh boy! Typing this one was a bit tense for me!**

Chapter Nineteen

**Patch's POV**

I fell onto the sand next to Nora's body, and lifted her gently by her shoulders. Her eyes were closed, and she seemed to struggle with every breath. I pulled her hair from in front of her face so that I could see if she had any more bruising. I exhaled angrily when I saw the bruising around her temple. Suddenly, her eyes fluttered open, and all of my anger vanished with her huge, yet weak smile.

"I did it…_yes_!" she exclaimed, looking into my eyes wildly. I smiled down at her.

"What did you do, Angel?" I asked, relieved to hear her voice again.

"I got _out!"_ she whispered proudly. I was in shock. _Of course she'd gotten out, _I thought. _That's how she was in front of me._

"Where are you, Angel? How did you get out?" I asked her urgently. She turned her face away from me, dodging my question. She turned back around to me, her eyes huge.

"I knew that they'd have to let me out. I _knew it!_" she answered. "I needed to find you, Patch! That's all I could think of, was that I needed to find you, and it helped me do it…" Nora began murmuring to herself. I looked upon her, worrying about her mental state. She'd obviously been trapped by herself for too long. Her head began to lean back; she was falling out. I shook her lightly, bringing her back into consciousness.

"Nora. _Where are you, and how did you get out?" _Nora looked at me, with a pained look. She lifted her arm, and put it in my hand. I was confused at first, until I flipped over her arm.

_There was a large gash in her wrist. _

I was horrified.

"Nora, what were you _thinking? You could have killed yourself!" _I shouted, unable to control my tone due to my fear. She shrunk back at my yelling, and her eyes watered. I brought myself into control, and I placed my forehead onto hers.

"Hank dies if I go. They won't let that happen. He's got too much to lose. And even if I did die…it'd all be over, his empire collapses…I think that it's fair…" she cried.

"Nora, I could give a _damn_ about Hank's empire! If keeping you alive means that it prospers, then it's just going to have to survive." I tried to relax my voice. "I'm sorry about yelling, it's just that…if you'd died…" I couldn't bring my fears into words. I couldn't believe that she'd resorted to such drastic measures to escape and find me. I never wanted her to have to go through any sort of pain, for any reason. I wanted to peel the skin from Hank for the rest of eternity for putting her through this much suffering. I turned away, hiding both the depths of my fear and the intensity of my hate for Hank away from her. She held her hand out, shaking, trying to make me face her.

"I'm in New Hampshire, Patch…I have to be heading to a hospital…but...I don't know where they're taking me…" she said fearfully.

I sensed her body begin to fade. I shook her gently again, yet urgently, trying to stop her from falling away from me, especially since I knew that it could mean that she was dying.

"I need you to remember, Angel. I need you to remember so that I can come get you." She didn't answer me immediately. "Angel_…Angel!" _

She pulled me close with a shocking amount of strength.

"_I need you to know_…if you can't find me…if this is it…I love you, and I'm _so sorry for putting you through so much…_" she whispered, looking into my face with a strange look.

"Nora, I _am _going to find you, but I need you to stop using the time we have. Do you have something, _anything, _that you remember that can let me know _where _in New Hampshire you are?"

She wouldn't answer me. She kept giving me that strange look, almost pleading with me to respond to what she'd said. So I kissed her, quickly but fiercely.

"You have _no reason _to be sorry, okay? You've done _nothing_ wrong! This is all Hank Millar's doing, and I can't destroy him for you until I have you back, okay? I love you! Now _please, help me find you!" _

At my words, Nora's eyes filled with tears, and she smiled serenely. She laid her head back, relaxing in my arms.

"Wh…white mountain…"

Suddenly, she jerked upright in my arms. I saw a horrified look on her face as she spat out blood onto my shirt, gasped, and vanished.

* * *

><p>I woke up, jerking from the bed, and onto my knees on the floor. My back contorted in on itself, as fear coursed through my veins. I pushed myself off of the ground, and threw on a shirt and my shoes. Dabria ran into the room, seeing me in a panic.<p>

"What the hell are you doing? We're too close for you to decide to leave now…_Jev!" _I ignored her yelling, and grabbed my keys. She followed close behind me, and grabbed my arm. I gave her a wild look; a look that suggested I'd stab her right in her wing scars if she tried to stop me. I charged towards the Commander as I realized that I knew exactly where she'd be. _White Mountain National Forest. Of course! _I shouted at myself as I started the car. I vaguely noticed Dabria throw herself into the car beside me.

I couldn't believe that she'd be willing to risk _killing herself _to find me! I wasn't that vain, I knew that part of it was her instinctive, desperate need to escape. I knew that if she'd hit that point, her physical and mental state was rapidly deteriorating. I needed to get to her, and fast. I was lucky it was late at night, and no one was on the highway, because I was easily pushing 100 miles an hour.

* * *

><p>I'd reached the northern edge of Massachusetts when the car decided that it was going to stop working. I was so enraged that I left the car on the road, and planned on stealing someone else's car, or (if it got to that point) running the rest of the way. First however, I needed to let off some aggression. There were woods next to the car, so I walked towards them and began punching everything in sight. Dabria wisely stayed out of my way while I let off the steam that had built inside of me.<p>

All of a sudden, I felt my body begin to move slower and slower, until I was forced into a prisoner of war position on the ground. Time itself began to freeze around me, until I could only move my head. I rose my head, seething, ready to fight my way out of whatever had trapped me.

I looked right into the face an archangel.

**Reviews, please and thank you!**


	22. Chapter 20

**Hello! So, disclaimer; the translations are from Google Translate. They might not be perfect, but seeing as I know no Italian (besides what I've heard on Assassin's Creed 2) and my Latin is very rusty (it's been a while) I needed some help. Just assume that they are talking in Italian the entire time. Enjoy!**

Chapter Twenty

**Patch's POV**

_They couldn't take me to Hell…not yet!_

I was torn between panic and anger as I glared at the ambivalent archangel, with his arms crossed, standing in front of me. I knew that I'd have to fight him if I wanted to get away, but seeing as how I was trapped in time, I wasn't too sure on how it was going to happen. The archangel's face relaxed.

"Io non sono qui per inviare all'inferno." _I'm not here to send you to Hell. _

He spoke in Italian, the language of the angels. I easily slipped back into the old language.

"Allora che cosa è che si desidera, Arcangelo?" _Then what is it that you want, Archangel? _

Seeming satisfied that I'd play along, he relaxed his stance.

"I'm here to prevent you from interfering." He answered. I simply looked at him, confused. He shook his head and continued.

"I will tell you what I believe you need to know. Devilcraft has been introduced on Earth. I'm sure that you're aware of just _who _we should be worried about."

I said nothing, but I had a good feeling about it.

"Barnabas Underwood has been a thorn in our side for half a millenia. However, it has not been until _now _that he has shown such…" He paused, seeming disturbed. "…_ability _to succeed in his goals. We've been observing him more closely." I couldn't help but sneer at his words.

"Well, I'll be damned! Ha! Predictable of the archangels. What makes you choose _now…_No, I get it. You depended upon _me and Rixon _to keep them in control. Ha ha! Archangels dependent upon the fallen; I wonder how taboo _that_ decision must have been!"

His face remained unchanged at my words. I was slightly thrown by his reaction; any other archangel would have punished me. He continued once my rant was over.

"What I need to find, is _proof! _I need something to take back. Not just something infused with devilcraft, but someone affected by devilcraft. Evidence of behavior! And this," he said, turning back to me, "is where your involvement comes in."

"Okay…?" I answered.

"You see, an invaluable part of the way our Kingdom works, is that one should receive a trial."

I laughed out loud. "_Stronzate! (bullshit!) _If you think that that's how your brethren work, you are sorely mistaken!"

Again, he ignored my taunts. "And at a trial, evidence is necessary." He was beginning to really piss me off.

"What the _fuck _does any of this have to do with me?" I shouted, my patience running out. Suddenly, he grabbed my face, pulling me closer.

"You weren't listening. I need evidence of behavior. What I _need, _is a small, starving, hidden girl. A girl being driven mad by Barnabas' behavior." He let my face go, moving back. I was frozen in place.

"_Nora…you're asking me to not go after Nora…" _I whispered. He stared back, gauging my reaction.

"How can you even _ask _me to consider that? And this means that you all have known _exactly _what's been going on! You want me to not look for her?"

"That's exactly what I'm asking. Although, asking is putting it politely. I will stop you if need be."

To say I began to _curse him out_ was "putting it politely". He waved his hand, and my head was jerked back. I couldn't move my mouth, as if I were gagged.

"I've been watching you, _Jev Cipriano. _I know that I can easily have you sent to hell right now." I quailed slightly at his words. He pulled my hair back, looking into my face. "Lord knows you deserve it. However, you have been a key part of my investigation."

He tossed my head forward and continued. "You must understand, Jev, that things need to, and will, get worse before they can get better. There is a plan in motion. It has been seen that you will play a key part in helping to eradicate devilcraft."

I felt my mouth be released from the gag. "Why would I _ever _help the archangels on their mission?"

"Because if Nora Grey needed you to, you'd do anything." I felt the blood run to my face.

"How dare you even _speak _about her? How can you let her suffer?" I whispered.

"Things are bigger than her. People have always suffered for a righteous cause. I've had my eye on her too; troublemaker. I don't exactly agree with your relationship, however, she is _supposed _to be safe around you." He answered, forming the parentheses in the air.

"_Supposed?" _I hissed. He sneered down at me.

"You aren't exactly an effective guardian. I watched this summer as you failed at the one thing that you were ordained to do. And then, you let her get kidnapped! Surely she deserves better. I think that was the first time in millennia that a guardian angel was _fired_."

I would have gotten angry, except my guilt coiled in my stomach at the memories, and I felt sick to my core.

"Oh Jev," he whispered. "Things will get better. What is coming is simply a breakthrough hidden beneath a setback. As soon as we have what we need, there will be no problem with you going after Nora."

We were silent for a few moments.

"How can you be so…calm about it? How is it that you could all have this planned?" I asked him.

"It's my job. As for your other question, you've been out of the loop too long, Jev. You know that we have our ways." He looked down at his watch. "Well, I think that's enough time." He began to walk away from me.

"Oh!" he said, turning back. "Jones Hospital. She has been sensed there. I'm sure that you can type it in to your GPS. That was you can at least see how she was doing."

My body was released, and I stood up slowly. I was confused; why would he tell me where she was if he didn't want me to find her? _Fucking archangels and their tricks, _I thought. Suddenly, I remembered something.

"Wait!" I shouted. He turned.

"I was an archangel for a long time, and yet I've never seen you. Ever. In fact, I've never seen you in Nora's life either. Who are you?"

He smiled at my question. "Well, Jev, some of us aren't the type to boldly state our opinions every time we can. I'm more of the subtle type that sticks to the back of the room, and listens."

"_Who are you?" _I pressed, irritated at his deflection. He simply stared at me deeply for a moment, and shrugged.

"Ecanus. _Buon viaggio , angelo caduto in disgrazia_. (_Have a nice trip, disgraced angel.)_" He vanished, and time unfroze.

In a daze, I walked back to the Jeep. Reaching for the GPS, I typed in the address of the hospital, and placed it back on the dashboard. For a moment, I stared into the distance, thinking back to what just happened. I vaguely noticed Dabria staring at me.

Shaking my head, I turned on the car (that I realized had been fine all along) and sped down the road.

**What you think? Be sure to review! Thank you all ever so! **


	23. Chapter 21

**Hi there! Enjoy!**

Chapter Twenty-One

**Omniscient POV**

"Shit! Then _find _a damned way to _save her life!_" Hank shouted, and then hung up. Dante flinched as he threw the phone down onto the passenger seat. He was speeding to the nearest hospital he could. He couldn't believe her nerve; He'd walked in to pressure her, let her know that he was in control. He could never predict that she'd been in there the whole time with access to a sharp object, let alone that she'd try to kill herself! He'd jumped in surprise as she'd began to bleed out. Dropping the mindtrick to keep her awake, Dante had torn off a piece of his shirt and formed a tourniquet around her arm, picked her up, and thrown her into his car.

Panic was now making him unorganized. He picked the phone back up and called some of the men he'd been assigned.

"Meet me at Jones Hospital! The prisoner has…injured herself, and I need to make sure that no one in this hospital is aware of who she is!" The men replied promptly, and he met them at the hospital. Kicking open the doors, he charged the desk. The woman behind it jumped up immediately.

"What happened?" she cried. Dante contorted his face into that of a worried father.

"My daughter, my…Laura, she tried to kill herself! Help me, please! She hasn't been eating, or moving, and now this!" he cried. The woman immediately reacted, calling for the doctors. Dante made sure they saw a blonde haired girl laying weak in his arms. The doctors picked her up, laid her on a bed, and pushed it into the emergency hallways. Dante turned himself invisible, and rushed through the doors with them. _His daughter Laura, ha! _He really thought himself hilarious. As he thought about daughters, he began to worry about Hank, and just how he might actually react.

* * *

><p>Three hours later, he was standing guard over Nora's unconscious body. She'd woken up during surgery, panicking and spitting up blood. Dante had forced her to not be able to speak about who or where she was, and eventually they'd had to put her struggling body under. The doctors explained to him that she'd been starved, and her body had been turning on her but she'd pull through. She needed intravenous sugars and lots of rest for her body to recuperate.<p>

Dante had played along, being the distraught and guilty father; learning all he needed to about her condition so that he could report it back. He now watched as color returned to her face, and her body seemed to heal itself quickly. It wasn't pure Nephilim blood, but she'd had enough in her that her body seemed to heal a bit quicker than normal. Resilient. It intrigued Dante; made him wonder how she would handle if she _were_ pure-blooded.

The rest of the guards were doing their jobs, erasing memories from irrelevant nurses and doctors, and making sure that the doctors treating Nora didn't know who she actually was. His phone rang; he looked down; Hank.

"Hello, sir." He answered.

"Well, Matterrazzi, I know that my daughter is indeed safe. It seems like you have succeeded after all."

"Yes sir." There was silence over the phone for a moment.

"How is she holding up?" Dante raised his eyebrows. If he didn't know the situation better, he might have thought that Hank actually cared about his illegitimate daughter.

"Doctors said that she will be fine. I think, sir; that her slight amount of Nephilim blood is helping her heal a little quicker than normal. Still slowly, but her body is already returning to a natural state with the sugars." He answered, stating his observations.

"Well, isn't that grand." Hank answered drily. "She needs to be moved. _Immediately." _Dante jumped slightly. He didn't care about the girl, but it would have been pointless to have brought her to move her too early.

"But, sir...what about all of the fluids…"

"Take them with you! The entire damned bed if you have to, until you can get her back to that cabin! And make sure she has no access to anything sharp. No pencils, no paper, absolutely _nothing!" _Dante sensed Hank's panic. He seemed to have been thrown off by this setback more so than he should have been. _But why? _Dante waved a man inside, and gestured for him to steal an ambulance, and to get the cars ready.

"Dr. Howlett will bring you more. I'll arrange for him to take a hiatus from work to treat her."

"Howlett? He works in Coldwater! He'll know exactly who she is!" Dante cried. He heard Hank chuckle darkly over the phone.

"He'll do exactly what I tell him to do, otherwise I'll expose just exactly _how _he earned that Johns Hopkins degree. He will bring the sugars, and needles, and anything else she'll need. She _must be kept alive!" _

Dante decided to risk a little ground in his curiosity. "Why are you so worried about this? Is she not just a prisoner? Are you worried about your daughter?"

"I don't give a _damn _about that bastard child! I almost lost _everything _today, because of her…" _Interesting, _Dante thought. He heard Hank sigh. "Just take her back, put her into her bed, and make sure she doesn't die. And do it with some urgency; I'm not sure if you remember, but the wards are no longer around her, which means that the fallen angel will sense her…" He was silent.

"Sir?" Dante asked.

"And so can an Archangel…an Archangel will follow!" Hank seemed to have had a moment of brilliance. "Take the girl back to the cabin! My men and I will be waiting there. You have an hour!" The line went dead. Bemused, Dante watched as his men picked the girl's bed up and placed in into the ambulance. Having erased everyone's memory, he stepped into his car and followed behind. So, Hank planned on capturing an archangel using the girl as bait…he almost felt bad for the girl; the way she had to sacrifice for a cause she knew nothing about. The plan was very risky however; who knew if an angel would actually follow. Shaking his head at the absurdity, he followed the ambulance into the woods.

* * *

><p>Thirty minutes later, a dark Jeep Commander pulled into the parking lot where Dante's car had just pulled off.<p>

**OOOOOOH! See what I did there? So close, but alas, no cigar! Be honest, how many of you flipped the table when you read it? Ha no, but please review; it makes me feel really good when you do, and keeps me motivated to write. Thank you to all that have already! **


	24. Chapter 22

**Sorry y'all,; it's been one heck of a week (College; Bio and Chem are demanding) and I haven't really had the time to post. This was quite the long winded chapter; whoo-wee but it's done now! It's me trying to make up for it! It's all Patch, and he's really thrown off his groove (or so I was trying to portray) Hope you enjoy! Oh and thank you for all of the reviews; really they do inspire me to post! **

Chapter Twenty-Two

**Patch's POV**

I pulled the Commander into the lot, barely parking it before I threw myself out. Placing on my hat, I began speed walking towards the door; Dabria at my heels.

"Circle around; check the perimeter." I commanded, pointing at the hospital. It wasn't a large hospital; just large enough for the rural area surrounding it. She grimaced, but began to run. I sensed that there had recently been Nephilim around, so I slowed my walk until I was sauntering through the doors. Cautious, I looked around from underneath the cap; it all seemed clear, so I approached the woman at the desk.

"Excuse me," I politely asked the lady. The middle aged woman looked up, giving me a suspicious look.

"How may I help you, sir?"

"Has there been a patient entered recently for emergency surgery? A girl?" I asked. She looked at me confusedly.

"No; this night has been pretty slow actually. No entries at all." I stared back at her, making her shrink into her seat. Looking into her eyes, I could tell that her memories had been erased.

_Show me the files on the computer, of recent entries, _I commanded her, using a mind trick to force her. Her eyes went pale, and she pulled up the file I was looking for. Nothing at all; completely blank. Frustrated, I walked away from the desk, leaving the woman in a dazed state. I started looking into doors. I began asking nurses in the hallway, doctors sitting around on their breaks. No one seemed to know anything at all.

After asking anyone I could have, I leaned against the wall and put my hands on my eyes. I was agitated when I heard someone speak from very closely in front of me.

"Are you looking for someone?" I opened my eyes to a small, mousy brunette. Backing up from her, I told her who I was looking for. Hope filled my chest when her eyes lit in understanding.

"I remember her. I went out on my break to buy cigarettes about an hour ago; I come back and everyone's just sort of sitting around in a daze. It's weird. She must have been okay," she said, shrugging. "She was gone when I got back; I suppose her father must have taken her home. I don't think that's so safe, 'specially with the condition she was in, but I guess it's his choice..." I held my hand out, stopping her prattling.

"What room?"

"205. I went to check her vitals."

"Thank you, miss." I began to walk away.

"You her boyfriend?" she asked me, following.

I sighed. "Why?"

"You seem concerned. Might want to convince her into eating, and getting a therapist. And being more supportive. Shame she felt it was ready to end it. Were you beating her? Don't see how, with a father like that. Watched over her like a hawk too; scary man."

The woman was aggravating me with her presence and assumptions. "Do you know anything else?" She shook her head. I quickly approached her, and before she knew it, I'd wiped her mind of the entire night. Before she could get her bearings, I'd ghosted out of the hallway.

Finding room 205, I entered and locked the door behind me. Everything looked perfectly in place. I looked on and under the bed, through the drawers, around the machines; everything seemed perfectly placed. In fact, it all looked too perfect, and that's when I realized that they must have taken her out on the bed. I couldn't believe that I'd been so close.

_An hour ago, _the woman had said. I had been an hour from finally getting Nora back. How had I been so off? Suddenly, a thought popped up in my mind.

"_That ought to be enough time," he'd said, looking at his watch. _

I thought that time had frozen completely. It hadn't. He'd stalled me…but for an entire _hour? _How had I noticed _nothing? _I was enraged, and disconcerted by the mysterious archangel, Ecanus. I leaned my head back, laughing hatefully at the ceiling. Both Heaven and Hell seemed to be getting in the way of what I needed, once again, and the shit was _really_ getting old.

* * *

><p>I'd been sitting there for a while when the door opened. I turned to see Dabria walk in.<p>

"Everywhere is clear."

"I see that." Dabria's face screwed up.

"We came here for N… for that _girl?_" she hissed. "We could literally lose _everything! _All the things we worked for, Jev, not to mention that Aliberti said he'd ruin our reputations and have us killed!" I turned my head towards her, noting her defensive stance.

"I am really unconcerned with that right now. Besides, he wasn't talking to _you_ anyway. It doesn't matter. We'll be on our way back. I don't have what I came for." I must have had one hell of a dejected look on my face, because she sighed and looked at me as if she didn't want to say what she was going to say.

"I'm sorry we didn't find Nora. I hate to see you so unhappy." She turned her face away, trying to hide the sour look. "Try the security cameras." I was shocked. Dabria rarely showed sympathy, and…

"Cameras?" She glared at me.

"Yes, Jev, _cameras_. You can at least see what condition she was in." I was so happy, I walked up, gave her a quick one-armed hug, and walked away from the huge smile growing on her face. It meant nothing to me, not in comparison to the idea she'd just given me. I'd found the security room, and the lazy nurses and security officer watching it.

"Hey, what are you doing-"

_Get out! _I commanded them. Silently, they walked out of the room. I sat down in front of the screens, praying they had the two screens of footage I was looking for. Dabria walked in, smugly, and handed me a drive. There was one hall for emergency surgery, and luckily I was able to find the room where Nora had been pretty quickly. I downloaded two days' worth of footage, removed the drive, and then we subtly slipped out of the hospital. We were walking out when I realized something. I held the drive up, giving Dabria a suspicious look.

"How did you know I'd need the drive?" I whispered. She looked down.

"I foresaw that you'd need the footage."

"Did you see that we weren't going to make it…_did you know where we had to go, Dabria?" _ She looked up, alarmed at the tone in my voice.

"I only saw we were headed here. I didn't know what we were looking for, or that we'd be too late, I swear! I only knew we'd need the drive while I was looking for you in the hospital. I even stole a laptop so that you could watch it! I just wanted you to feel better, you should be happy!" she cried, holding her hands up defensively. I could argue against the word _happy _forever, but because I was feeling gracious, I dropped it. I reached into my pocket and handed her the keys.

"Drive. Fast." Looking relieved, she took the keys and got into the car. I got into the back, starting the laptop. It must have been brand new, because there was no password. Feeling bad for the person only for a moment, I popped in the drive and began to watch.

* * *

><p>There was no sound; pity, but no matter. Finally, I came across what I was looking for. I saw the doctors lay her unconscious body on the table, strap her down, and begin to operate on her wrist. Quick and efficient, they were almost finished when she suddenly jerked up, coughing blood. Frightening the nurses, they tried to place her back down. I didn't need the sound to see that she was screaming <em>Patch, <em>and it broke my heart.I peered closer at the screen, _something was off. _It seemed that she was trying to tell someone something, but something was pulling at her throat. _Someone employing a mindtrick, _I thought darkly. It was upsetting to watch her struggle, and I was ready to kill someone when I saw them stab her (extremely hard) with a needle injection to knock her back out.

When they were finished with her surgery, a doctor began looking over her body, while a nurse took notes. He seemed to be noting her physical state. I flinched when he lifted her dress, showing her ribs poking through her skin. When he was finished, someone rolled her out of the room. Pausing at the time where she was removed, I found the same time on the other screen.

She was lying in the bed, hair surrounding the pillow. At first, she looked eerily like a corpse on a coroner's table. A dark figure walked in, wearing a hoodie. The figure stood watch over her body. Her face seemed disturbed, as if she knew that someone was watching over her. However, I couldn't help notice that over the hours, and with the IV sugars, her color begin to return to her skin, and the readings on the heart monitor become regular. She was healing. After speeding through a couple hours of footage, the dark figure got onto his phone, seeming agitated. I ached to stop them as men came in and rolled her bed out of the room. That was the last footage that I'd had to see of her, and the thought gave me pain and anger.

Nora had had a point though; _he won't let her die, _I thought, _not with the oath he made. _I chuckled darkly at the scare Hank must have had when he saw his extremities begin to turn to dust. I didn't think for a second that he'd actually shown up with her at the hospital; no, he was probably hiding and licking his wounds. Having seen what I'd needed to, I made Dabria stop at a gas station, called the police, and told them that I'd found a laptop. Telling them the address, I hung up, and we got out of there quickly.

* * *

><p>I was deep in thought when I received a phone call.<p>

"Well, Mr. Cipriano, I sure hope that you weren't running away from my offer. Something important?"

I decided to be honest. "Someone important to me. I had to make sure she was okay."

"Ah, _love. _The female you brought wasn't yours? Hm. Makes me wonder about you, and your loyalty."

"The woman I brought with me to the meeting is my _accomplice_." I answered darkly. I heard him laugh deeply.

"_Right_. See, I'm so gracious, I'll understand. But you need to know, nothing of the sort needs to _ever _happen again. Are we clear?" His voice changed by the end, becoming sinister.

"Yes sir."

"Good. As you are returning, I can see, you are accepting my offer?"

"Yes sir."

"Your swearing will be tomorrow, and, if you do right, your first assignment the day after. Have a wonderful trip back with your…_accomplice." _The line went dead.

I wasn't worried about Aliberti. As far as I was concerned, I was there to get the information I needed to get Angel out of Hank's clutches. Her injuries and the footage only proved that I needed to work faster. If I had to lie, steal, and murder in order to infiltrate his systems, and to get back to what was really important, so be it.

**So? Feel free to review! **


	25. Chapter 23

**Okay, so, some updates: I'm moving everything that has happened to Nora, and thus the story, up one week. This one is supposed to be like week 8, but I decided it'd be better to move it up. So now it's week 9. Also, from that last chapter, I'm leaving what happens with Patch and his mysterious connections up to the imagination! I might just do another small story on that part of his life. Idk. Just know that he's so badass that he's made it work, and that's how he's getting information to Hank (This doesn't mean there's no more Patch chapters!) Omg guys, we're almost to the end... :'( **

Chapter Twenty-Three

**Week 9**

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

I opened my eyes to the annoying sound of a heart monitor. I'd expected to open my eyes in a hospital room, but instead I saw the wooden ceiling of the cabin. I couldn't muster anything but a soul aching sigh. I couldn't imagine why they would risk my life stealing me away from the hospital, or why they'd do something as stupid as bringing me _back _when Patch had to have been on my trail by now…_right? _I tried remembering what had happened. The sharpest (and only) memory I had was of waking up while surgeons were holding my arm. I'd pulled out of the straps holding me down, screaming, trying to get someone to help me, but it'd felt like my neck was being pulled back down to the bed. I shuddered. Still, I felt better than I had in weeks; I'd slept, and while I was hungry, I didn't feel weak.

I knew something was off when I tried to stretch. I could feel the sheets around me, but my arms wouldn't move. I tried lifting myself off of the bed, but my body was completely paralyzed. I couldn't move anything from my shoulders and down. I began to panic a little, especially when I lifted my head enough to look down and see that not only was I paralyzed, but _strapped _to the bed. I stopped struggling when I heard someone walk in. It was a doctor. His face was grim, and he avoided my eyes while checking my vitals. I watched as he pulled out a needle and inserted it into a fluid filled sac. I saw the tubes coming from the bag, and realized they led into my arms. I opened my mouth to speak to him, but no sound came out. However, he must have seen me trying to speak, because he pressed his lips tightly and hurried out of the room. I wondered if he was being held captive as well. Moments later, I felt exhausted; it must have been whatever that man had injected into me. I fell into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

><p>I woke up later on, trying to get my bearings. Being paralyzed was extremely uncomfortable, especially when I tried to do reaction things like stretching or yawning. I noticed a shadow move in the corner of my eye; I turned my eye to see who it was.<p>

I was locked down, in some sort of disadvantage, and terribly confused, so I wasn't surprised when I saw my visitor was Hank Millar. He tended to visit when he knew I couldn't fight back. I stiffened in automatic fear, but summoned a hell-raising glare for him. Smiling at my look, he began to speak.

"So my darling, that was quite the little trick you pulled a couple days ago. Taking advantage of my kindness is not something I look kindly upon. You don't seem to realize how you could have ruined it _all _for me…" his face had contorted by the end, into the same disturbed look he'd given me before he'd beaten the hell out of me, weeks ago. I was terrified; I couldn't control the returned look on my face. He shook his head, going back to smiling.

"Still, Nora, I am impressed by your nerve. Not many would ever dare to do such a thing to get out of a situation; like eating a cyanide pill so as to not release Intel. Then again, it could simply be your descent into insanity that pushed you to do such a thing." I followed him with my eyes as he pondered his own thoughts. All of a sudden, he clapped his hands together.

"And yet! If all goes as I am positively sure it will, you, my lovely daughter, have just given me a gift like no other! All of my dreams, all of my plans, coming true! And for that, I'm willing to reward you, although it will be on my terms. And _certainly _no sharp objects, or any for that matter, will be given to you." I simply stared at him, wondering what the hell he was babbling about. He snickered at the look upon my face.

"Have anything to say so far?" he asked, waving his hand. Suddenly, I was able to speak again. Not wanting to waste any words, I thought about the questions I wanted to ask.

"Why didn't you move me?" I asked, my voice rough from lack of use.

"Excellent question; there are two answers. One, your fallen angel isn't coming to look for you. I had a tracking device placed on his car; he knows that he has other duties elsewhere." he answered, with a truly twisted look on his face. It didn't make sense; Patch would follow me; he _knew _I'd been close…He must have been caught up in something big; he wouldn't have let my move end in waste, and he'd _seemed _to want to find me… I didn't allow myself to doubt; if Patch hadn't found me, something had gotten in his way. I moved on to another question.

"How is my mother? And Vee?"

"Fine, both alive and well. Your mother misses you very much, although she seems to be getting along." He seemed to feel no need to say anymore.

"What _dreams _exactly am I making come true? What would make you risk my death, and exposure, by bringing me back here?" Laughing, he approached the bed, sat, and began stroking my hair. I could hardly control the uncomfortable look on my face.

"For me to know, and you to never worry about. It's a shame, Nora. You would have made a wonderful daughter, under the right circumstances. Intelligent, pretty, bold, yet strategic. Too bad fate intervened." Walking out, he waved his hand, and suddenly I couldn't talk anymore. That had to have been the most _bizarre _thing that had ever happened to me in my life. I could still feel his cold hands, and the thought made me sick. Pushing it out of my mind, I couldn't help but wonder what exactly was going on that would make what I had thought was my biggest move such an advantage to Hank. The door reopened, and the same doctor from earlier came in with another injection.

* * *

><p>I woke up in the middle of the night. I sensed something approaching me, and it was an eerie feeling to know that I couldn't move away from it. I blinked, trying to see through the darkness, and, appearing as if from nowhere, there was an angel in front of me. Her skin was pale, and it glowed slightly in the darkness. She leaned her head over mine, her dark black hair falling onto my face. I was torn between fright and awe; fright because I really hoped I wasn't dead, and awe due to…well, due to her presence. It reminded me of Patch's fallen angel power, which meant that she could only be an Archangel.<p>

"Oh, Nora. It's taken so _long _to find you. I sense an evil around you; it has debilitated your mind and body. Awful. What a shame." She stated. It didn't look like she felt sorry _for me, _but for the situation at hand.

"It would be so much easier to just kill you now. Oh, not because it's personal, but simply to remove the issue at hand." My heart began pounding in fear; she didn't look like she had any qualms about doing it either. After all, what was one human life to the Archangels? Still, it wasn't like she wanted me dead…she just had no feeling about it. Completely ambivalent. I could see why Patch had fell; they weren't nearly as cherubic or as kind as I'd always imagined angels to be. Patch was too passionate for that sort of existence.

"However, others need claim we need your survival. The powers of Heaven demand mercy for you. And so, Nora Grey, I am here to release you."

_It only took them a few weeks, _I thought grumpily. Something was off; this was _too _easy. I remembered Hank's words from earlier, and I became on high alert.

_Stop! It's dangerous, get out of here! _I shouted in my mind towards her, praying she'd hear me.

Suddenly, three shining blue whips came from out of _nowhere, _yanking the archangel by her neck and arms to the ground. Men came barreling in, trying to grab her. A heavy wind began blowing, presumably from her invisible wings, as the Archangel began screaming and trying to fight her way from them. The wind toppled the bed I was in into the wall, and then on its side on the ground. I watched silent and helpless as the men were able to yank a glowing gag into her mouth and bind her with glowing rope. She gave me a terrified look, one that suggested that she'd never had to experience such fear before. In shock, I watched as they dragged the Archangel away.

**I hope you liked it! Feel free to leave me loads of reviews! **


	26. Chapter 24

**Sorry for the lack of posting guys :( I haven't gotten to sleep before midnight all last week on account of studying for a Chemistry exam, and I've got a Bio one tomorrow...thus is the luxury that is a Bio major...Please, forgive me!**

Chapter Twenty-Four

**Omniscient POV**

Hank Millar was more or less swaggering into the warehouse, unable to contain his excitement. He'd waited days for this, and if Dante had let him down, well, there would be hell to pay. He entered the large room, and saw Dante standing in front of a large cage, covered by a black drape.

"Well?" he said impatiently. Without words, and with a flourish, Dante pulled the curtain back to show the struggling Archangel underneath it. Hank's face twisted in gleeful greed, and he began slowly approaching the Archangel as if he were approaching a prized pig. The Archangel was covered in devilcraft enchanted ropes, then chains, and the chains were tied to the bars of the cage (that were also glowing blue). It was really some of Blakely's best work up to date. When he touched the bars, she hissed and began jerking from the chains.

"Well, well my dear. Hello. Welcome to my humble headquarters; I know it's not Heaven, but at the moment, you certainly have made it so for me." Hank said softly. The Archangel began to hiss back unintelligibly in Italian, and he patiently waited for her to stop.

"You are here, to put it bluntly, to give me what I want. And what I want, are answers. Answers that only those with access to the Heavens can give."

"I don't have to tell you _shit, _Hank Millar." She hissed back.

"Oh! Such language! I know that they don't smile upon that back home," Hank answered, sneering. He leaned his face towards the bar, near hers. "Oh, and, you _have to, _with that pretty little necklace you have on…" Hank lost his words as he peered at her neck and realized that she didn't have one on. The archangel, panicking at his words, began to wail shrilly. Hank, uncaring about her panic, turned to Dante.

"Where is it!?" he shouted, enraged.

"Where's what?" Dante answered, confused but unshaken.

"The necklace! The Archangel was supposed to have come with a necklace!" Hank continued. Dante held his hands up.

"It was probably dropped in the scuffle. Capturing her was no easy feat, sir." Hank was silent for a moment.

"Where did you capture her?"

"In your daughter's room, sir." Hank looked up, agitated.

"She was in there, and it was the only time we had to get her. She was trying to take Nora."

The Archangel went noticeably silent at his words. Hank began to think.

"Go find it. If the girl has it, take it from her. I don't care how." He commanded. Dante nodded, gestured towards some men, and left. When he was out of the room, Hank turned back towards the angel.

"As for you, I _will _have answers, and you _will give them to me." _he threatened.

"You would unleash those men upon your own child, all for your _filthy Nephilim cause._ You are _un uomo depravato (a depraved man)._ But it is no matter for much longer. The others will find me." She whispered. Hank scoffed.

"You aren't stupid, my dear. You know they won't be able to find you, not with what you're wrapped up in." The Archangel paled only for a moment, because he'd just confirmed her worst suspicions, but her face became fierce once again.

"It doesn't work quite as well on my kind as you'd like to think. Regardless of your devilcraft, I _will _get out, I _will _fly home, and you, Hank Millar, _Kyrie Eleison, (Lord have mercy), perché si bruciano in un inferno (because you will burn in hell)." _

Hank had no clue what she'd said by the end, and he didn't care, because he was too busy thinking ahead. He looked at her with a terrible face. He already knew that if he tore her wings out, she'd become fallen, and the necklace and her answers would be pointless. But he needed a way to keep her prostrate, down on Earth. Suddenly, he got a perfect, terrible idea.

"Enjoy your cage; the more you fight, the longer you'll stay." Back into business mode, he threw the cloth back over the cage, and began to walk away.

* * *

><p>In the dark, the Archangel began to whimper quietly. She heard him get onto the phone and begin to speak to someone else.<p>

"Enchant the chainsaws with four times the amount. Yes, _this is_ a big job, with _more_ than enough benefits to warrant such work."

The Archangel went limp in the chains. She knew e_xactly _what he planned to do, and if she didn't move quickly, she'd never be able to avoid what was coming. She looked at the chains. The devilcraft was slowly draining her of her great power; there was no way she could just burst out of the cage. Praying it would work, she began to focus all of what little energy she had left on reaching out. She needed to reach Nora Grey's conscious, to warn her, both for her safety, and to hide the silver necklace that was somewhere in her cell.

**Well? I know it's shorter than normal, but I felt like it needed to be here, so I wrote it. Oh and she curses in both Latin and in Italian. I stole that Latin phrase from the Hunchback of Notre Dame (I love the song Hellfire) Shit gets real when you curse in Latin, lol! Please review! I miss seeing all of the friendly things you guys write; they really make my day! **


	27. Chapter 25

**Hey! The quote is Becca Fitzpatrick's! **

Chapter Twenty Five

**Nora's POV**

I prepared myself to go to sleep. There were no more straps; no more hospital bed. The mystery doctor was no longer giving me any medicine, which let me know that I was officially better. Things had gotten considerably better, in some cases. It was very strange; almost like the calm before the storm.

For starters, I was allowed to watch TV. Once I knew I had this freedom, I quickly turned the channel to the news, hoping to see my mother. When I saw her, it was a short piece of old airing, and she was begging me to come home. My eyes filled with tears, which became enraged when I saw Hank Millar hold on to her and promise to _deliver me home. _There were many words I had to say about him; creep being the least of them. I wondered about my mom, and Vee for that matter. I knew my mother must be torn apart, especially after what happened to my dad. And Vee? Did she miss me? Was she safe? Had she found a new best friend? I refused to acknowledge the fear that she'd moved on, like the rest of the world apparently had. Shaking my head, I got up to go outside. It was another freedom I gained. There were guards at every door, and they checked me up and down every time I left a room, or came in and out.

Walking around, I felt my stomach grumble. The food I received was now real food, and the shady doctor brought it in. In the morning, I'd tried to speak to him, but he refused to open his mouth.

"Are you allowed to speak to me? At all? Can you tell me _anything?" _I begged him, but he wouldn't talk. He just shook his head. It was uncharacteristic of me, but I decided not to press it. The freedom was eerie, as if it could end at any moment with any incident. I'd become jaded by that point; after everything I'd gone through, I refused to let the peace I was experiencing be ruined.

Continuing my pacing in a circle, I picked a stick up to have something to mess with.

"Drop it!" The guard shouted, and I turned to see him approaching me. I dropped the stick quickly, and backed up with my hands in the air. Nodding, he backed up towards his post at the door.

After a while, I began to think about Patch. Where the hell was he? Did he even care I was there? After a minute of cursing him in my mind, I realized that I was resentful at his freedom; at his failure to find me. Part of me was shocked at myself, that I would ever doubt him, but the new, cooler part of me no longer cared that I was being mean. I couldn't deny it, I was _angry _that he hadn't found me. He could have followed; I'd almost died so he could find me and he hadn't even come to get me… It was illogical, but it gave me a fire that I hadn't had in a long time.

I'd stayed outside for almost all day; the air was getting cooler and the trees were beginning to change color. I'd been here for an entire _season. _

Looking down back at the bed, the only thought I had was that I'd be able to sleep peacefully for once in the weeks that I'd been kidnapped.

* * *

><p>My eyes opened in a cage. No peaceful sleep, then. Normally I'd have panicked, but I realized it was a dream, and so I began to look around.<p>

"Nora Grey! _Oh grazie a Dio_! _(Oh thank god!)" _I looked up at an angel in chains. It was the same Archangel that I'd seen captured by Hank's men.

"I see that Hank got to you." I said, slightly shaken at the fact that they'd been able to tame an Archangel, and coolly because, well, she had talked about killing me.

"There is _no time _to be smart! You must move, quickly! The necklace; you need to find my silver necklace and dispose of it!" she cried.

"Why is the necklace important? And you threatened to kill me; why should I help you?" I retorted. She glared at me.

"_Bambino testardo! (stubborn child!) _This has nothing to do with my words! If Hank Millar gets that necklace, he will gain the answers of Heaven from me, and it can, and _will, _lead to full scale Armageddon!" she hissed. Jaded as I was, I realized how important it was that I listen to her.

"Why can't you escape? What are the using on you to keep you in this cage?" I knew Archangels were incredibly powerful; there was no reason she couldn't escape.

"Devilcraft. It's the reason it was so hard to find you; you are untraceable within the confines of devilcraft." I blinked as it explained why Patch hadn't been able to find her, or contact her while she was inside of the cabin. I nodded, fully on board.

"I'll do it." I knew that it was important to stop Hank from unleashing hell on earth, but part of me enjoyed the idea that I could one-up Hank at his own twisted game. For once, I had the advantage from my prison. Relieved at my agreeing, the Archangel smiled.

"Hurry! They're coming for you! _Wake up!" _she shouted, and I felt her power force me back awake.

* * *

><p>With a drive I didn't know I had, I threw myself out of bed and began looking for the necklace. There weren't many places it could be, if it were in the room at all. I found it pretty quickly, pulling it from underneath the dresser. It was a simple silver chain, just like Patch's. I didn't know what to do with it; there was nowhere I could hide it that they couldn't find. Suddenly, I got a brilliant idea. I put the necklace in my underwear, and began banging on the door.<p>

"What?" called an impatient voice. I kept banging on the door. Finally it was thrown open.

"What do you want?" he growled.

"I have to pee." Said like a true five year old. Shaking his head and glaring at me, he checked me, and after finding nothing, he led me to the bathroom. I had new bathroom privileges, being that I could shower myself and use it in private. Making sure I actually did use the bathroom, I turned on the sink, washed my hands, and pulled out the necklace. I stared at it for a moment; it gave me a flashback to earlier this summer.

_Reaching for my neck, I yanked at the silver chain he'd given me…I hadn't given up hope. I'd still believed in us. I'd clung to the belief that there was a way…to bring Patch back to me…I flung the chain at him. _

And to think I'd thought things were as bad as they could get. It seemed ages ago.

I heard the front door open, and voices in the hall. I quickly dropped the necklace down the drain, stuffing it until it was completely gone.

As soon as I'd done it, the bathroom door slammed open.

**So? How'd you like it? I tried to catch Nora's secret, bubbling resentment, especially after being trapped for 9 weeks. Just know: It's- a-bout, to-go, DOWN! Also, the quote is from Crescendo! Please review!**


	28. Chapter 26

**Hi everybody! Sorry for the wait! **

Chapter Twenty-Six

**Nora's POV**

"Where is it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Dante sighed exasperatedly, and glared at me. "I can't psychologically force you; that's one of the only things that I can't do. I ought to do it anyway, to get your stubborn ass to talk!" I simply smiled at him. My arms were tied behind my back, and I was in the chair in the basement. I was keeping my cool; I refused to let where I was get to me.

"Where _is it?" _he shouted. I refused to answer. I hadn't answered under two hours of strain and interrogation; they hadn't tortured too badly yet, and it was strangely funny to watch Dante struggle to get me to talk without his mind tricks. Still, I had a feeling my luck was coming to the end.

"Go get one of the frayed ropes. Perhaps after a couple lashes she'll be ready to talk." Dante hissed. My eyes widened in uncontrollable panic.

"I'll only talk when Hank shows up." I said hurriedly. I'd come up with the perfect ploy while waiting it out in the basement, and I needed to deliver the perfect argument. It could only be delivered to Hank; I had to pull one of his own cards- blackmail.

Eventually, Hank walked in, and Dante left in a huff.

"Where is the necklace, Nora?" he asked quietly. I didn't answer him. He tried the sweet approach. "Haven't I been kind? Haven't you been given all of the freedoms that you asked for? Why are you still fighting? What is it that you want?"

"I want to see Patch." I answered simply.

"We've been over this; I can't let you do that."

"Then I'm afraid I don't know what necklace you're talking about." I replied, smirking. Hank's face filled with blood, and twisted.

"I could kill you, you little ungrateful brat, when this is all over. I changed my mind when I commanded Dante, and told him not to psychologically destroy you. I could let him. I'm trying to show some decency." He threatened.

Here was my key moment. "No you can't. I mean, I'm sure you could, but you won't risk it."

Hank was taken aback by my confidence. I used his silence to continue.

"No matter what you do to me, if you kill me, I end up in front of a jury of Archangels. I can tell them everything. What you've done to me; your stolen Archangel; devilcraft; all of it, _gone." _

Hank had jumped at the word _devilcraft. _"As you are aware, we've already taken down an Archangel. They are powerless against…against devilcraft." I gave him his own signature sly look.

"Unlikely. That struggle, just to capture one? I highly doubt you can take on an entire _army. _You _need_ me alive, _Dad, _whether you _want_ me alive or not."

Hank was seething at my words. His face was picture worthy. He turned to leave, probably to deliver some command to have me strangled until near death.

"But…" I said, praying he'd turn. He did.

"Let me talk to Patch. Please. I won't fight anymore, or argue. I'll even tell you where the necklace is. I'll do whatever it is you want. Just…please." I saw him almost turn towards the door and leave, but he began to consider. He turned around, with a strangely proud look on his face.

"I'm spoiling you, daughter. Normally, I'd torture the whereabouts of the necklace out of you. However, I appreciate your strong will. You would have made an excellent soldier; not many humans could last this long. It runs in your blood." He walked over and kneeled in front of me. "As much as you would prefer not to see it, your time here has hardened you. Made you smarter; stronger; and deviously clever. Just like your _old man_." Hank laughed. "You would have made the perfect successor, had you been raised correctly. Blythe's tendency for melodrama runs just as deep in your blood."

Ignoring his insults, I peered into his cold eyes and smiled. "Tick tock." He stood up, laughing.

"Okay. I'll let you speak to him. There will be men present. One word out of place, regarding where you are, or what you know, and it'll cut off. As more incentive for you to behave, I'll throw your angel's fate into it. He's in a precarious position right now; one slip, and _oops, _a feather is misplaced, and there's another fallen in Hell. Are we clear?"

I nodded, swallowing. He pulled out a knife from his jacket pocket, and cut his hand.

"Swear on it." I looked at the knife warily. He smiled.

"Oh you can't tell me you're afraid? It'll be just like last time. Besides, like you said, I can't kill you."

I nodded again, and he cut my hand. Once he had my blood, Hank went to the door.

"Let her go," he commanded the soldiers outside.

As they untied me, I couldn't help but feel that something was weird. It was almost as if Hank genuinely thought that he was being…being a _Dad. _I shivered; that thought was too disturbing to even consider.

**Omniscient POV**

Hank was disturbed by how close Nora had come to the truth. He had no clue how she'd been able to figure it out; only that she'd certainly had enough time to think about it. He chuckled as he realized his words from earlier were true; he really was spoiling her. Did he feel guilty or something? No, not that. He couldn't help but be impressed by Nora's growth; he responded to his own blood. It was a shame she was so…human.

On the drive back to Coldwater, he realized that he'd have to wipe the precocious little bastard's mind, once he had what he needed. Like she'd said, he couldn't kill her. He did, however, plan on staying around afterwards. Make sure that nothing came back. So, nothing was wrong with playing her little game. She'd seemed so impressed with herself, too. That was just as well; she'd sealed her own fate. It'd even give him a one-up on the fallen angel. He picked his phone up; called the number. It went to voicemail; he adopted a dark tone.

"The warehouse. Eight, tonight. If you'd prefer to speak to your girlfriend." He hung up. He knew that the angel would show up.

**So? I was trying to go for a tougher Nora, and a twisted Hank. I like tough Nora; I think it's bout time she grew the nerve! As for Hank..what a creepy father! Please, review! **


	29. Chapter 27

**Hello, All! I have finals next week, and I've had naught but some sort of examination for the past month. However, I just love the support I get so much that I can't go too long without updating! I personally love this chapter; I'd been suffering from the disease known as writer's block, when BOOM I figured it out! Enjoy! **

Chapter Twenty-Seven

**Patch's POV**

Getting out the jeep, I commanded Dabria to stay outside and watch for foul play. I couldn't believe the message I'd received. _The warehouse. Eight, tonight. If you'd prefer to speak to your girlfriend._ I walked up to the doors of the decoy warehouse. Hank Millar stood there, surrounded by guards, impatiently tapping his foot. He looked up when I came from the shadows.

"Well, you look antsy. Don't worry, she's actually inside." He smirked at my expression; my eyes had widened at the thought. "Let me make some things clear. There are guards outside, surrounding the premises. If you try anything, she will be dragged away, and you will suffer consequences."

I must have made a face, because his eyebrows lifted. "What consequences, you wonder? Well, I'm not sure if you remember, fallen angel, but I have a pretty pair of black wings hidden somewhere. Easy to burn. When you're gone, I'm held to no swear. Poor Nora won't know what to do when she finds out she's trapped forever. Or worse, if I lose my temper. Are we clear?"

I glared, hiding my dread. "Crystal." He smiled.

"Good. I have things to attend to; I'll leave you." He began walking with the guards towards the other warehouse. I slowly walked into the open door, aware of the guards hidden in the shadows around me.

"_Hello? Patch?" _

I ran into the open area. I saw her in the middle of the floor, her leg chained to the ground. I fell into her arms.

* * *

><p><strong>Omniscient POV<strong>

"While they're busy," Hank said, speaking to himself as he walked into the warehouse. Dante, thinking ahead, revealed the Archangel.

"Hello, my dear. I see you've made yourself at home." He said sarcastically.

"I see you have no necklace," she responded, smiling fiercely.

"Oh, but I will. Nora…caved in. She sold you out." he said, reveling in her pain when he saw her face fall.

"I have a gift for you. You'll be my long term guest; it's time you were comfortable in that cage."

Chainsaws revved behind him as she paled and began struggling in the chains.

* * *

><p><strong>Patch's POV<strong>

I didn't want to let her go. I knew I couldn't feel her physically, but I swore that I felt warmth. I lifted her face, kissing her.

"How'd you convince him to bring you here? What does he want?" I said, breathing hard. Nora smiled sardonically.

"Fighting Hank Millar is a losing battle. I had to make a deal with the devil, himself." She jumped as the chain on her leg yanked her back to the ground. I'd been unconsciously pulling her towards the door; towards escape.

"Sorry," I said, sitting her down, and looking at the chain.

"It's excessive, I know. I know I can't leave; it was a part of the deal to see you." She began laughing harshly. It was a terrible sound; not from the sweet Nora that I knew.

"You look like you want to pick me up and carry me away." She said, smiling sadly.

"I do." I frowned as I noticed her grimace. She wasn't acting like her old self at all, but it was too be expected. The pain and time she'd spent in isolation was written all over her face. I turned away, hiding the anger on my face. She pulled my face back.

"I'll be okay. Really. It can't be too much longer now." I was too frustrated to think about that.

"What did you swear, specifically?" I demanded. She shook her head.

"I can't tell you. All I can say is that I can't leave." I ran my hand through my hair. Suddenly, I remembered something. I began checking her for injuries, and I found the wrist that she'd cut. It still showed marks from the stitches, but it looked to be healing well. Nora looked at me curiously.

"You nearly frightened me to death with this move, you know." I said, looking at her very seriously. She laughed, that dark look coming back.

"It was a tough time for me as well." She said simply. Shaking her head, she changed the subject.

"So, what have you been doing?" she asked. I certainly wasn't going to tell her about the dirty deals and inhumane things that I'd been doing in the past weeks.

"Nothing much important. Trying to find you. Avoiding the archangels. Keeping myself from murdering Hank Millar." She frowned.

"Be careful." I didn't want her to be sad, so I laughed it off.

"Don't worry, Angel; they haven't caught up to me in hundreds of years, and I highly doubt they can now." There it was, again; the look with the touch of darkness. I don't even think she noticed that it was constantly on her face.

"How's my mother?" she asked suddenly. "And Vee? And Scott?"

"I haven't checked. I do know Hank is pretending to help her; manipulating your investigation."

"Bastard," she hissed.

"Vee is fine, I suppose. I could give a damn less about the Nephil." I finished. She smacked my arm, and I chuckled.

"I'll see what I can do." She nodded, tearing up.

"Angel, relax. I was kidding. I'll make sure they're okay. What are you worried about?" I said softly, holding her.

"I'll be honest. I'm miserable. But I've gotten used to it. The lack of freedom. I want to be let go. I'll eventually get out, I know, but how will I forget all of this? I've been through a lot, and…" she paused, looking around.

"And?" I prompted. She turned back, and leaned towards me to whisper.

"I did something bad, and something bad is going to happen to me." She whispered, gripping my arms. I looked at her in horror. She continued, with a set look on her face. "I duped Hank. I can't leave here; my fate is unavoidable. I know he can't kill me, not while you both have an oath. When that time is up…_please_ be quick about getting me back." I was speechless; once again, she'd risked her life to see me.

"Time's up, lover boy!" I heard a Nephil soldier call. Nora's eyes widened. I gripped her shoulders.

"I won't let anything happen to you, okay?" I whispered intensely. I didn't know how full that promise could be. The Nephil had approached me, and I turned to fight him when he collapsed. Dabria stood behind him, bar in hand.

"I thought you were disposed of!" Nora shouted.

"_I _thought I told you to _wait in the car_," I said, pissed off. Nora looked at me with a disgusted look.

"It's business only." I sighed; Nora's jealousy came rushing back, and for a second, she looked like her old self.

"You've been with her this whole time?" she hissed.

"There are people coming; come on, now Jev…" Dabria whispered, slinking back into the shadows.

Nora watched her go, and turned towards me. I saw her eyes dim.

"You haven't been looking for me at all, have you." It was a statement. An untrue statement.

"Nora," I began. She shook me off.

"No, I get it. Business. Okay." Nephilim began to swarm the building. "Make sure everyone is safe." She whispered quickly. Some came over and held me down. I wasn't paying attention to them; I was looking at Nora. Her face filled with fear, which was replaced by a downtrodden look. When she looked me in my face, suddenly it twisted. Her eyes widened with a wild look, tears began falling, and she began screaming.

"If you don't find me, Patch Cipriano, it's because _you weren't looking! You lied! You said you'd find me!" _

I didn't know how to respond; she was right. I'd failed her, miserably. Men began lifting her up, but she fought back against them.

"_Don't let them take me again! Patch!" _She knew she couldn't leave with me; she was panicking out of her fear. I knew that there were tears running my face. I knew that I couldn't get her back, due to my oath, and because Hank had my feather. I was caught, and I hated the cowardice that I was facing it with. Eventually, I was alone with in the warehouse.

* * *

><p><strong>Omniscient POV<strong>

Nora's screams were echoed by the wailing, sorrow screams of the Archangel, lying limp with minor chains holding her down. She was now wingless.

**Oooooh! I just love it so much, I can't help myself! Patch had her, she was right there...and he let her go! I know, right? Please, lots of reviews! How you feelin bout this one? **


	30. Chapter 28

**Here's another one! I was on a roll, so I kept typing!**

Chapter Twenty-Eight

**Week 10**

**Nora's POV**

I knew they would come for me. Yet, it wasn't the first thing on my mind. I sat on the bed, hands folded, thinking about the night I'd gotten to finally see Patch.

I knew that he'd had to let me go. I knew that I couldn't leave. I hadn't meant to panic; I really hadn't. I'd meant to be resolved; cool, and collected.

I couldn't believe he'd brought _Dabria. _I hated her on principle; the same way I hated Marcie. She had tried to kill me! It shouldn't have upset me so much, but the thought of him spending all of his time with _her…_It was infuriating.

Still, I felt bad for yelling at him. Once again, I pushed him away for no reason. I couldn't believe I said what I had; he hadn't deserved it, and I hadn't meant it…

The door opened, and I closed my eyes.

* * *

><p><strong>Omniscient POV<strong>

"Where is the necklace?"

Nora didn't answer at first. Hank Millar's tone was enough to frighten anyone silent; his face even more so. It became a puce color as she wasn't speaking.

"It's not in the house," he whispered, his voice growing louder. "We looked _everywhere! _Where did you bury it? You tell me, you _insolent child! Where…is…the __**necklace?!**__" _On the inflection of "necklace", he backhanded Nora onto the concrete floor. She fell onto the floor, feeling her face. It was numb.

"The sewers," she whispered. Hank went pale.

"What…did you…just say…?" he whispered. Nora looked up, smiling with the half of her face that wasn't swollen.

"It's in the sewer. It's gone. You made me take an oath to tell you where it is, and I'm telling you. I broke nothing. It's gone, and you will _never _find it. You lose, Hank." She whispered. Hank's face filled with rage, and he reared back and kicked her in the stomach.

"You little _bitch!" _He lifted her up by her hair._ "I will kill you! As soon as the oath is finished, you are dead!" _Letting her head fall, he turned to the door, storming away. "Leave her here! No food, visitors, nothing but water until I feel merciful! She's useless to me now." He left, and Nora fell unconscious onto the ground.

* * *

><p><strong>Nora's POV<strong>

I opened my eyes in the Archangel's cage. My head was pounding, and my stomach burned. We were both lying, prostrate on the ground, the same haunted look on our faces.

"You…" Her eyes burned with a quiet hate. "You…sold me out…" her face contorted, and tears fell. "How could you?"

"I didn't. I got rid of the necklace, like you asked. I'm trapped. I'll die after the oath is up. I helped you. Please…help me…" I whispered back. I saw her eyes widen with understanding, and the hate disappear. She began to push herself off of the ground, and onto her knees. She nodded.

"I will watch out for you, Nora Grey. I _will _make sure Hank Millar doesn't kill you. I'll…remind him that you know too much to be killed."

Still on the ground, I nodded. It was painful just moving my face. She saw the pain I was in.

"Hank Millar will burn for this. For everything he's done. It goes beyond inhumane, especially with his treatment of you. But he's gone beyond the laws of Heaven and nature."

I couldn't summon the energy to agree. I felt the dream fading around me. She felt it as well.

"I'm sorry. I can't use too much power. There's too much devilcraft separating us." I nodded again. I suddenly had a burning question for her. In looking at her features, I'd noticed something familiar.

"What is your name?" The archangel jumped.

"What?"

"What is your name?" I asked. She was silent for a moment.

"Acadia. Acadia Basso." I jumped, my un-swollen eye widening.

"Your brother, then, is-"

The dream vanished. I woke up on the ground.

Basso. _Basso. _He'd known all along what was going on. Wow. An archangel.

* * *

><p><strong>Omniscient POV<strong>

Hank was ready to murder someone. He couldn't believe that the little bitch had tricked him. This is what he got for leniency. For mercy. He stormed up to the cage, throwing off the sheet.

"_You! You did this!" _he shouted. Acadia looked at him weakly.

"You cannot win, Hank Millar."

"I'll _kill_ the little bitch. I'll kill her, and then I'll kill _you_ too!" he shouted again.

"You're panicking. You cannot kill her. If you do, it's all over. You'll just lose again. And while I'd love to see you lose everything, it's not right to have at happen at the loss of a human. You'd be less than human if you'd murder your own flesh and blood." Hank stormed to the cage.

"She…is _not…_my flesh and blood. She is a mutation, a degenerate, a stain upon a proud lineage! A disappointment!" he hissed.

"She's still your family! Besides, any fallen…" Acadia stopped. She'd said enough, at her own risk. Hank Millar didn't need any more prompting.

"Any fallen archangel would have a necklace…" Hank's eyes widened in avarice. He turned away, leaving Acadia to hang her head. He pulled his phone out and dialed a number.

"Marcie, my love, my darling!" he said sweetly.

"Oh, Dad, _of course. _What do you even want? Oh that's right, it's not your family! It's that _homewrecker _Blythe Grey! You couldn't even wait until your little love child was out of the pic-"

"Silence, Marcie." He answered, taking on an authoritative tone. "Have you seen Nora Grey's boyfriend lately?"

"Uh, no! I don't do leftovers, Dad. _I_ have more class than that."

"Did he ever wear a silver necklace?" There was silence for a moment.

"Um…yes, I think. Nora had it, but then she gave it back to him. Why do you even-"

He hung up on her. He turned to one of the hardened soldiers.

"You, there. I have a mission for you. Find our fallen friend. Tell him that I plan on erasing our lovely girl's memory. Does he have any objections?"


	31. Chapter 29

Chapter Twenty Nine

**Patch's POV**

I was speeding through the pouring rain. I was too pissed off to regard how dangerous it was; the two people in the car were immortal. I turned my head towards the groans coming from the back seat. There was a bloody, pulpy Nephil lying in the back. Apparently, Hank Millar was confident enough to send one _into my home. _

_I'd been sitting on my couch, taking one of my few breaks, when I felt someone in my house. I looked towards the door, and the Nephil was standing there, smirking. I maintained my position on the couch, but was fully alert. _

"_If it doesn't involve Nora, I'll give you ten seconds to leave." He smirked even harder. _

"_Then you're in luck. I'm here on a mission from the Black Hand. He intends to erase his prisoner's mind, once he lets her go. Do you have any objections?" _

_I got up slowly, as if I were thinking. Then, faster than he could register, I was in front of the Nephil, punching him in his nose. He fell to the ground in shock; I didn't let him get up. All I saw in my mind was Hank; how he'd stolen Nora from me; how he'd beaten and tortured her; how he'd used her to torture me. Every single punch was directed at Hank, and instead, all I could do was beat this unlucky Nephil. So I did. Miserably. _

How dare he have the audacity to send him into my home? He was lucky it wasn't him at the end of my fists, or it would have been infinitely worse. I couldn't help but think of his words. _Erase his prisoner's mind. _I didn't want Nora to suffer after he let her go. It pained me to think of her screaming in the middle of the night, memories of Hank hurting her over and over. I didn't disagree, but I'd make sure every memory was erased. Then I'd comfort her…right? Then I remembered what she'd screamed at me.

"…_it's because you weren't looking! You lied! You said you'd find me!"_

I knew that she was only panicking, but I couldn't help but think that she was right. I'd failed her, so badly. Some guardian angel I was; even Ecanus (who I hadn't seen at _all_) knew of my failings as a guardian. My reverie was interrupted by a louder groan. I pulled the car to a swerve at the side of the highway, and turned around with a murderous look on my face.

"Make _one more fucking noise, and I'll re-break your neck." _I hissed menacingly. The noise stopped. I put the car back in drive, but more slowly.

I was the reason for everything bad in Nora's life. I was her original threat. Starting with Chauncey. Fate would have it that I would fall in love with his descendant, who I was originally determined to kill. If not counting Rixon, who had also been after her. If I'd never met her, she wouldn't be where she was right now. Suffering.

I pulled into Hank Millar's driveway, and dragged the bloody body into the house.

* * *

><p>Hank jumped when he saw me sitting on his armchair in the morning, with the dead Nephil on his clean carpet. Well, not <em>dead, <em>but I'd meant it when I said I'd re-break his neck.

"Good morning, Sunshine." I said, smiling evilly. Hank was trying to control it, but he couldn't help his grimace. I shrugged, moving on.

"I'll be blunt. Erase it all. Back to April. And be _thorough. _No flashbacks, no dreams. Nothing. Not even a memory of me." Hank smiled at my words; my pain was obviously good for him.

"Oh, what, a lover's sacrifice? How sweet. I may have said this once before, but she's not worth it."

I gestured at his man on the ground, and looked back at him. He seemed to catch my threat. I continued.

"I don't want you to _ever _lay eyes on Nora Grey again. If you ever touch her, or even _cross _her path, I will hunt you down and mutilate your body _beyond _recognition." I was standing at this point, and I saw Hank flinch, remembering what I was capable of doing to his pretty face.

"Afterwards, I will find a way to kill you. No matter what the cost may be." At my words, he began nervously laughing.

"You cannot kill me, Fallen Angel. I'm immortal." He said. I sneered.

"I'd say ask Chauncey, but, you know... It wasn't even me who had to do that. Your human daughter pulled that one off. I won't be as merciful." Hank glared at me, and began pacing his floor, avoiding looking at the man separating us.

"In a way, I'll miss this Nora. She's cunning, crafty; able to take a punch." He sneered at me; a brave move, considering I'd lost the blood in my face and had been ready to kill him. "She's damaged goods anyway. Shame. I'll get what I want now, with or without her." He was peering at me intensely, seeming to look for something on me. He turned away, not finding it. Shrugging, he gestured at the door.

"You may go, if you please. I have a man to clean up, and business to attend to."

I heard someone moving through the house; it was Marcie complaining about staying at her old home. Hearing her annoying voice made me want to hurt something. I quickly left; getting into the car and pulling off.

* * *

><p>I laid my head back on the seat. I heard an exasperated sigh. I turned and saw Nora in the seat.<p>

"_And, who gave you the right to decide what's best for me?"_

"I just took a little initiative, Angel." She smirked.

"_Initiative. Right."_

"It's what you need. It'll be okay."

"_No it won't. You always say that, but it never is. Stop lying to me, and stop lying to yourself, Patch. Not to mention, I'll forget everything, but you will remember it all. Forever wanting me, but not having me. Sad..." _I looked over, and she had that haunted look on her face, with a smirk.

I looked away, too ashamed. "It's better for the both of us. This is one thing I'm positive on, Angel."

I heard her shake her head. _"Don't call me Angel! You failed me! You don't deserve to have me around!" _The new hatred in her tone was heavy. I turned to beg her forgiveness, to hold her, but there was nothing there. Great. I'd been talking to myself. _Son of a bitch, _I thought to myself, running my hands through my hair. I hadn't considered all of that when I made the threat to Hank. I could never see her again; never speak, never actually hear her sigh at my flirtation, never to kiss those lips, or see that fiery red hair. Never to tease her and watch her blush and try to work her way around what I'd said. All of it, gone. It was too painful. I heard a buzz in my pocket, and pulled out my phone.

_Hurry up; aren't we supposed to be going somewhere tonight? _Dabria. Damn it. I'd have to find a way to drop her; there was no way in hell I'd be without Nora, and _Dabria_ try to take her place. A simple "stay the hell out of my existence" would be great, except she'd never listen. She was right though; I had somewhere to be. I cleared my face, sighed, and started driving. I made my decision; the best I could do was stick to it.

**I certainly would never want to be at the end of one of Patch's tantrums. Eek. I remembered that he'd said he saw her ghost, and because I'd forgotten to incorporate that, I thought I'd put it here. I think it's placed nicely. Anyway, reviews please! Thank you to everyone who's been supporting me so far (I appreciate it all, really I do!) I'm thinking about doing another story, maybe not canon to the series, but still Hush, Hush. It'll definitely be different. If I do it at all. I don't know. I might also do some Patch POV short ones, maybe from chapters I like in the series. What do you all think? **


	32. Chapter 30

**I tried to get the Ghost thing going, as per requests. There's so little left, I don't think I can get too much more in :'( I'm sorry! I'll try to get it in there when relevant though. I like this chapter; it...I hate to say it, but it sounds so...close to the end. **

Chapter Thirty

**Patch's POV**

"You're going to tell me what I want to know, and you will tell me _now." _My hands were bloody from the Nephil's face. I'd cornered him in a bad neighborhood and now had him pinned to the ground, Dabria at my side.

"You are enslaved to a fallen angel I'm looking for. You know _exactly _what I want; stop bullshitting and I might just let you go without any more injury." The Nephil spat out a tooth.

"I won't tell you _shit, _fallen angel!" I rolled my eyes.

"They always say that; too stupid to realize it's the wrong answer." Dabria approached him with her metal bar (she'd seemed to take a liking to it) and hit him across his head. He was silent as he reeled from the blow.

"Where do you even keep that?" I asked her, not looking up.

"I'm pretty skilled; I have my ways." She answered. She lifted his face. "You _tell us_ what we want." The Nephil struggled to open his eyes.

"You can't…kill me…anyway…" I laughed at his words.

"That won't stop me from finding you. Wherever you go, whoever you're with, I will get you, and this _will _happen again." His un-swollen eye widened.

"You can't hide her, Nephil. I see you trying to hide her. We'll kill your little girlfriend too. It's no concern." Dabria hissed.

"No…" he whimpered. Something about his expression, and her words, struck a chord with me. For a moment there, I pitied him. Raising my hands, I knocked the Nephil unconscious.

"Why'd you do that?" Dabria yelled at me. "He was perfectly in our control! Don't tell me you felt bad. Don't tell me you're going soft, Jev!"

"Shut up, Dabria! I needed to think. He'll be right there when he comes to." I began to wonder if I had gone soft. Normally I could easily torture a Nephil; I'd been a mercenary too long for blood and cries to stop me when I didn't want it to. I saw a hand on my shoulder; Dabria had approached me.

"Go and take a walk, love." I grimaced at her use of the word "love", but I began to walk anyway. I'd gotten a certain distance away. I was waiting for it…

"_Poor guy." _I exhaled. There she was.

"_You couldn't help it. What if he didn't see his girlfriend? You wouldn't actually kill her? Even you aren't that shameless." _She paused, looking at me. Then she laughed, bitterly. _"Then again, past that you have, maybe you are. How can you do it, Patch? You're a murderer. Have been for centuries; excellent at it. How do you do it? Strangle someone, then come home and caress me with the same hands?"_

I looked at my bloody hands; I saw them holding Nora's face.

"_Oh; they're blood red. Really. You've got a little of my blood on them too." _

I looked at her, pleading. "Why are you torturing me?" She had that same look…and then I realized why it bothered me so much. It was _Hank_. It was Hank's influence, his torture…his behavior…she was acting like her father's daughter.

"_Because you want me to. You know I'm telling you the truth. You're a monster, Patch Cipriano. The day you finally decide to care for someone; even that you ruined. I loved you, and threw that back in my face!" _

"That's not true!" She spun to face me.

"_Isn't it? Think about it. If you were indeed flawless, you'd still be an Archangel. You're destined to ruin. It's what you're perfect at." _She was breaking my heart, and I still didn't want her to go.

"If I'm so bad, why are you still here? Why aren't you _happy _I'm letting you go?" Nora laughed at me.

"_I'm here because you want me here. I'm here because you __aren't __letting me go. Everything you are, everything you fear, I'm simply stating. I'm you, love. But, if you don't want me here…" _I jumped as she vanished.

"Wait a minute…Don't go…" I murmured. I was going soft. Throw a man, a threat, a punch, I could take it, no sweat. But there I was, brought to my knees by Nora Grey. No, not Nora, but how I _felt _she'd be.

"Jev!" I sighed as Dabria ruined _yet another _my moments. I felt so out of control; by the time I stumbled back to her, I fell into her arms.

"Hey, what's wrong? Jev, are you hurt?" she asked, trying to see what was wrong. I don't know why I did it. Maybe I felt a need to remove myself from Nora's grasp. I reached for Dabria's face, and brought her lips to mine. She jumped at first, but fell into it easily. I heard a giggle that brought me back to reality. I jerked away and turned.

"_Pathetic. It won't stop the pain!" _Nora sing-songed.

"Jev?" I turned back to Dabria. She was red, and she seemed ready for more.

"No…" I pushed her away and stood up. Finding the Nephil, I lifted him and threw him behind the trash cans in the alley.

"Jev! What was that?" Dabria cried.

"That…was a lapse of control. Don't expect it to happen again. Come on; he was worthless. There's a cleaner way to get to the fallen angel."

In that one moment, I realized I'd never be able to fully let her go. Instead, I'd just stay in the background. She never needed to know I was there. I wouldn't mess up protecting her if I wasn't in the way of keeping her safe.

"Jev!" I turned, my eyes in slits. "You felt _something _there!"

"No, I didn't, otherwise you'd have turned into dust. Business only, remember?" She paled. Turning, she walked to the car, and I watched her pull off. I laughed harshly.

"Bitch." Now I had to walk home.

"_Well, you kissed her." _

"You don't sound too upset." She giggled at my words.

"_I'm used to you hurting me. Besides, you redeemed yourself at the end there. Anyway, you can stay in pain if you want to, 'protecting me'. I won't thank you." _

I smirked. "You don't have to. You sound an awful lot like Marcie."

Even ghost Nora couldn't respond to that. Grinning, I pulled out my phone and dialed Dabria's number. It went to voicemail immediately.

"My car better be at Delphic tomorrow, or when I find you, your pride won't be the only thing that's hurt."

"_Evil." _

"I know." Smiling, I began a confident stroll towards Delphic. The neighborhood was considered bad, and it was dark, but I highly doubted there was anything walking free that could take me.

**Oh, ghost Nora's so mean. Has anyone caught on yet as to why she's (or who's making her) think that way? Hint: someone's losing it. I'm on fire right now; I think I'll go write another chapter. Much love!**


	33. Chapter 31

**I said I was on fire, and I just had to type another one. Problem is, there's only two or so more chapters left :'(**

Chapter Thirty-One

**Week 11**

**Nora's POV**

I had nothing left in me to fight anymore. I'd vacillated between curling up in a ball in the corner and lying directly on the ground; those were the only choices I made anymore. They'd come in a boarded the windows shut; after that, I hadn't seen anyone for a week. The only light in the room came from when water was pushed through the slot. Eventually (because who knew how much time had passed) a piece of white bread would be pushed in along with the water. I had no energy, except to sing quietly to pass the time.

I didn't want to see anyone either, to be honest. Any wish to see anyone had died after I'd been locked in. At that point, I was preparing myself to die. I knew Hank wouldn't find it beneath him to kill me. My bluff hadn't worked. I'd be able to do as I said, but I certainly didn't think I'd go quickly; not the way Hank operated. It was strange; in that dark, timeless room, I almost felt _safe. _

I hadn't seen the Archangel anymore. She must have been too weak. I'd saved her life; surely that meant some sort of credit in the afterlife. I didn't expect to see Patch anymore. It pained me to even think of him. When I wasn't in a stupor, I spent time thinking about many other things. First was my mother, and Vee. How they would feel, knowing that they'd never see me alive again. Probably floating in the river, where Mom would have to identify my waterlogged body. God knew what she'd do; alone without her husband or daughter. I'd never get to enjoy another donut and coffee with Vee; she'd move on to a new best friend that would comfort her. Next was my dad; my _real _Dad, Harrison Grey. He'd sacrificed his life to keep me safe; to keep his monster of a best friend safe, and here I was. I wished that it hadn't had to be this way. I would get to see him soon.

I'd curled up into a ball, singing quietly, when Dante and his men entered. It was eerie, seeing only their shadows.

"Nora, if you don't fight, this will be quick and easy." He said. I tensed slightly; I sure hoped they had only _death _on their minds. I didn't respond as two of the men lifted me up by my arms. I looked into Dante's shadowy face.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Making sure that you have no recollection of our lovely time here." He paused. "Will we have to fight?" He seemed almost excited at the idea of having to put me down. I laughed in his face.

"Do I have a choice? About this whole thing? Am I to die after you do it?" He laughed back at me.

"No."

I went limp. I didn't want to lose my memories. However, I'd been fear conditioned enough to not struggle. I began singing quietly as he reached towards me.

_She is like a cat in the dark,_

_And then, she is the darkness,_

_She rules her life like a fine skylark, _

_And when, the sky is starless…_

…_..Would you stay…if she promised you…heaven…. _

* * *

><p><strong>Omniscient POV<strong>

"Has it been done? There needs to be no trace of anything left. She needs to be a clean slate." Hank hissed anxiously.

"We won't know until she wakes up, which might not be for two days. I believe that it was completely and successfully done." a Nephil answered.

"Good. Take her to the warehouse. She'll stay there until she's near conscious." Hank said, and proceeded into his car.

* * *

><p>The thorns were pushing into my face, and the rocks were digging into my feet. Okay, so running halfway through New Hampshire had been a <em>shitty idea. <em>I'd have killed for a warm bath and a real bed. Still, I was so close. I'd been tracking Hank Millar for weeks, and I was absolutely _positive _that he was the Black Hand. The man was my worst fear, and God knew I didn't want to be caught this far in the game, so I had left my Charger at the border of Maine and run the rest of the way. My mood certainly hadn't been good since the run. I wished, once again, that Nora was with me. Well, not there with me, but both of us safe back in Coldwater. She'd been missing for two months. I was letting her down, not to mention my oath to her father. _Two whole months. _Where the hell could she have been? Was she still alive? She had to be…

I heard voices nearby, and it snapped me out of my thoughts.

"I need to know that she's a clean slate…" _Who, Hank Millar? Who needs to be a clean slate? _

Did he have Nora? The _pervert! _I almost jumped out of the trees, ready to kill, when I glimpsed the Nephilim crawling around the place like bugs. Way too many for me to fight. I decided to keep following Hank Millar; they seemed to be planning to move whoever was in the cabin. It was seeming way too likely that Nora was in that building. The problem was, if it were, and I'd been able to find her, why hadn't her crazy fallen angel ex? I flinched as I remembered him punching me in the face. Nobody could be drunk enough to forget a blow like that. I'd been a douche that night anyway, but still. Ouch.

Where was he, anyway? He was the only one who could have taken out Rixon. When I'd found out Rixon was in Hell, it let me know just how badass and how efficient a mercenary he was. So why, then, hadn't he been able to find Nora? Was the bastard even looking? What was he caught up in that he couldn't reach her?

Just then, I saw three cars pull off. Definitely moving something important. I followed them all the way back to Maine, and was just quick enough to find my Charger and jump in. Quietly (as the Charger could go) I followed them back to the outskirts of Coldwater. Parking the Charger in a gas lot, I followed the cars through the woods and to two warehouses. They were crawling with even more guards. One of the cars didn't stay too long. One of them got out, and pulled a large, open duffel bag out, and walked into the warehouse. How disrespectful. Now I prayed that it wasn't a dead Nora. I would have gone forward, but the doors were closed, and it was broad daylight. I decided to run back to my cave, and get a camera so that I could come back later that night and get both Nora (who would hopefully be alive) and proof of the Black Hand's workings. I took off into the woods before anyone saw me. To think, for once, _Scott Parnell _would be the good guy; the hero of the story.

**Okay, so I've got some comments. One, the song that Nora is singing is called "Rhiannon" by Fleetwood Mac, sung by Stevie Nicks. I heard it the other day, and I really liked it; I thought that the lyrics would fit. Two, for people familiar with the song, yes, I know I skipped some lines; it was on purpose. Three, I have the Force, you guys. I use the books (I have the series on my desk) to keep canon, right? Well, I was reading Hush, Hush, and what do I see but another Stevie Nicks song! I just think I'm that good, yall. Lol nah but review! **


	34. Chapter 32

Chapter Thirty-Two

**Omniscient POV**

The two Nephilim were driving through the night, towards the Coldwater cemetery. The night was foggy, and eerier than normal. They stopped the car.

"Aw, man, just put her down. Geez, I don't like this…" said one. He was very superstitious, having been raised in a home very respectful to the dead.

"Oh what, are you scared? Got the heebie-jeebies of graveyards?" answered the other, mocking the first. They lifted Nora's body out of the car, dragging it through. "We were commanded to leave her here, and so that's what we're going to do." Something ran over the first Nephil's foot, and he dropped Nora's legs with a flinch.

"Sorry, dude…I felt something, and I just…" There was a thud; the second Nephil had punched the first.

"Stop being such a _cherry! _Jesus Christ; what are you _not an immortal?" _he shouted.

"Don't say his name in vain…"

"Dude! Catch it; you are _not _at home anymore, with your rosaries and mommy and trinkets! Heaven doesn't want you and Hell won't have you! Stop being such a punk!"

"Don't talk about my mother, you asshole!" They stared each other down, before seeing the body in between them.

"Whatever, man. Where should we put her?"

"Just somewhere where she can be spotted." They'd walked some more distance before the first Nephil sensed something off.

"Just…leave her here!" he cried, lying her down on the ground. The second Nephil looked at him like he couldn't believe it.

"You can't tell me you don't sense something around here…it's not right…"

"You're a wuss." The second Nephil began touching Nora's hair. "She's very beautiful…"

"Don't get a hard on over a practically dead body! Besides, we have to leave her here, safely, as commanded…" the first Nephil said. He was already feeling nervous, and his ignorant friend's behavior was really pushing him to a limit.

"Aw, you're such a bitch. Just go back to the car; I'll take her." Relieved, the friend sighed.

"If they ask, I ain't see shit, man."

As his friend left, the second Nephil dragged Nora's body to the shadows. Licking his lips, he unzipped his pants. Before he could even touch her, he felt his head pushed to the ground. Looking up, he saw the flash of a knife, and a dark hoodie. He tried to scream, but his mouth, and body seemed to be forced still.

"You should have listened to your friend."

His internal screaming got louder as he felt his man part be cut off, slowly and agonizingly. He could have fainted as the shadowed figure held it over his face.

"_You disgusting son of a bitch. _Try, or even mention, this _ever _again, and I will cut it off again, along with the rest, and leave you strung up by the skin of it. I will know." Horrified, he didn't have time to react before the shadowed figure stabbed him through the throat.

* * *

><p><strong>Patch's POV<strong>

I wiped my hands, and picked Nora off of the ground. I was glad I'd decided to tail the suspicious car; I couldn't have forgiven myself if that bastard had…

But he has handled. I'd been quite merciful. It would have been much worse if Nora hadn't been close to me. Shaking my head, I looked at the girl in my arms. She _was _beautiful. I wished that I could feel her; so that I could know how warm she must have been. She squirmed slightly in my arms, and went still. I began to debate with myself whether or not to let her go. I could just take her back to Delphic, hide her away. She'd be perfectly safe with me there…

"_Should you let me go? Protection and such? Why not keep me prisoner, just like Hank?" _I heard bitter Nora ask. I looked into the face of the real Nora. She looked so…innocent in her sleep. That's what decided me. She deserved a fresh start. She deserved the peace; she'd earned it. I saw what I was looking for in the distance; however, I couldn't take her there, because she'd begun to wake up. I placed her down softly, trusting that she'd know where to move when she awoke.

"I'll be right there, Angel. I promise." I murmured, kissing her hand. Her eyes began to flutter, and I backed away. I'd only stay until someone found her.

I watched as she lifted her head, confused. As I'd known, she began to stumble towards the mausoleum. I jumped as she slipped backwards at something. Moving around, I watched her hit her head.

Eventually, she looked up, and saw the gravestone in front of her. She turned around, and looked straight at me. No, not me, as I was invisible, but the stone angel behind me. She smiled, and turned towards an oncoming noise.

A flashlight beamed into her eyes, and I faded into the darkness.


	35. Epilogue

Epilogue

_I was driving towards Gabe and his gang. I sensed that something was off; call it a gut feeling, but I knew I had to be there tonight. I heard Gabe as I pulled up to the 7-eleven._

"_Well, well boys. Guess who came to the party after all?" Gabe said, sneering. I got out of the car, carefully, so as to not let my thoughts show. _

"_Decided to join us after all? This one's offered resistance…"_

_I wasn't listening. While scanning my surroundings, my eyes fell on a girl. A beautiful, red haired girl, crouched on the ground. _

_She'd tried to come find me. She'd found me once, and I'd erased her memory, and she still came looking…I was filled with desire as I looked at her. For her to remember me, to know me, to love me…_

_She looked back at me in fear, and I realized why I was there. Only a moment had passed for all of this to process. _

"_Why is she here?" _

_Ohh, Angel. _

**That's all she wrote, guys! :'( I have to say, this story has been so much fun to write. It's given me so many excited nights and happy feelings (and tired college mornings) when I see how many people like to read what I've written. I appreciate the support I've received; the ideas I've seen. Every single review, every single favorite, every view, all of the people who have followed this since I began writing it, I love you guys so much! Oh, and I'd forgotten, a shout out back to Finland! A shout out for everyone who's spoken to me; Dallas, TheBritWhoDoesn'tDrinkTea, (you guys were my first reviewers; thanks for sticking it out) and everyone else (who are no less important!) You kept me writing, especially when I was tempted to stop. It's been a real joy! Also, stay tuned, on this story I'll be leaving a sneak-peek of another story I've decided to write! I hope to have the same support! Feel free to leave ideas for the next story in my inbox! (You know, after I leave my sneak peek, not before) Here is where I take my bow; until next time loves! **

** :) **


	36. Sneak Peek

_Prologue_

I was in bed, and I was lying in Nora's arms. I have to say; it's the best _feeling _I've experienced so far. I can feel how warm she is. I don't think I'll ever get over being able to touch her. It might not seem like much, but that's because if you've lived with touch for so long, you can never appreciate it. Even feeling through Chauncey never felt right, because it was someone else's hands.

I rarely felt a need to sleep; if I did, I had to be genuinely exhausted, or bored. However, I'll do it every single night, just to experience this. Nora likes it, so I like it. Yawning, Nora moved over in her sleep, removing her arms. I wasn't having that, so I just wrapped mine around her. It makes her jubilant, that I can feel her. She rarely mentioned it, but I know that she felt like something was missing from our physical relationship beforehand. If only she knew how much it bothered me when I saw the…not disappointment, but the sadness in her eyes when she thought about it. The difference was stunning.

I had everything that I could ever want. At least, the Patch that had entered Nora's life had everything that he could ever want. Nora had changed my life. Before her, I wasn't exactly the most… savory character. It was a thought that kept me up at night sometimes, when I was counting my three blessings (Nora, eternal life, the ability to feel). I would sift through every memory of mine, and wonder what I'd done to deserve the Angel lying in my arms. Not much, up until meeting her. It had all been worth it; the eternity of waiting, for this. For her.

I could remember a time when I thought I'd never be this happy.

The day they tore my wings out…

**As promised :) _Eternal _is already in the works. Got a guess as to what it's going to be about? See yall later!**


	37. Check Out Eternal!

**This isn't an ****_Insanity _****chapter y'all; that story is completed! I'm typing this because I've received questions about it!**

**My latest story, ****_Eternal, _****is in fact in work at the moment! The sneak peek was a preview for it; I wasn't sure if anyone knew that it was already on my page or not. So, it's there, don't worry! Please support my latest work!**

**Thank you, and I appreciate you!**


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